Sibling Steel
by Deviljho's Hatred
Summary: The two of them may have never been related by blood, but their bond is as real as any siblings. Together they walked into the virtual world that fateful day, and together, they'll be the ones to fight and survive together. No one can shake a bond stronger than any steel. Canon divergence. Rating for language and situations.
1. Chapter 1

**Sibling Steel: Chapter 1**

 **A/N: Hey guys, welcome to my first SAO fanfic. I've been a fan of this series ever since we first got the promo announcements for the english dub at Toonami. I was in high school at the time and just binged the series before it came out properly in the West and I found myself a fan. Now several years later, I'm awaiting season 3 and waiting for the movie to come out on Blu Ray so I can buy it. But enough of my fanboyish ramblings. Shoutouts to TheSib who not only helped to beta the chapter, but also help in the creative process for it. No doubt you've seen him in the fanfic section for this show but check out his stuff if you haven't. He does some high quality stuff.**

 _ **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SWORD ART ONLINE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. PLEASE SUPPORT THE OFFICIAL RELEASE.**_

 **With that out of the way, I hope you all enjoy my newest fic, Sibling Steel!**

* * *

 _A question that often went through Kazuto's head was why bother with such hard efforts? The end results would always remain the same in the situation he fought against. A soft force cannot push an immovable object no matter how many times it tried. It could not win in a contest of endurance even if it could get up an endless amount of times._

 _Yet time and again, the boy answered the angry yells that came whenever he fell to the ground alongside his shinai._

 _He shakily picked up the wooden sword and retook his stance in front of his grandfather. A task that was growing harder with every graceless fall to the ground from a painful whack from the older man. Kazuto couldn't figure out what made him stand up time and again against the more experienced man if the results would never change. Perhaps it was the fear that came from an adult yelling at a child or the eagerness that came with wanting approval and love._

 _But what the raven haired boy was experiencing was the farthest thing from any sort of love or approval. It was only pain that was felt even through the protective gear of his kendo uniform._

 _The elder man scowled deeper with the boy's weak stance and brought his shinai to against his side. Kazuto fell to the floor painfully as his own weapon flew a good distance behind him._

" _Is this all you have? Utterly pathetic, you absolute failure!" He yelled, prodding the fallen boy with his foot roughly. "Get up! One way or another you're going to learn!" When Kazuto didn't move from the floor, he kicked the boy away from him. The young child slid across the floor as he held his gut in pain. Tears of frustration and pain fell down his cheeks from the blatant abuse. "You are a complete disgrace to the Kirigaya name."_

 _Kazuto didn't have the strength in him to stand up anymore. Why would he? Why should he even bother? No matter how hard he could try, there was no way he could earn his grandfather's approval. He wanted his respect but not at the expense of his happiness and feeling of safety. He was done with this whole thing. He wanted it to end. But seeing the shadow of his abusing grandfather loom over him like a demon made the boy shrink in fear, placing his hands over his head in a protective reflex._

" _Grandpa, stop! Leave big brother alone!"_

 _The older Kirigaya stopped his approach as his granddaughter Suguha got in between the two of them with her arms raised as a wall. She gave the man a pleading look, tears falling down her cheeks. "Stop hurting Kazuto grandpa! He can't stand up anymore!"_

 _The man shook his head, looking past the young girl and sent his frown at Kazuto. "Look at you, having a woman come to your defense. Your little sister no less. It's an utter disgrace to even call you a man."_

" _Please grandpa! I'll train harder for the two of us! Just stop hurting Kazuto, please!" Suguha begged the cruel man. Her heart fell to her stomach once he shook his hand and pointed to the door._

" _That failure won't get off so easily! A successful kendoka like yourself shouldn't defend the pathetic! Now move or else you'll be punished alongside him!" The younger sister stood stalwart against her grandfather's rage. She wouldn't budge an inch even as he raised his hand._

 _Never in his entire life up until this point had Kazuto felt any more helpless than he had watching Suguha get slapped to the floor by his horrid grandfather. Seeing his sister holding her face, crying tears of pain as she curled up and shook with her tears. That helpless feeling boiled inside the boy until it faded away into pure rage as the man moved to hit her again._

" _YOU BASTARD!"_

 _The old man felt the pain that he was so eager to inflict onto Kazuto when the boy picked up his shinai and viciously whacked it across his face. In his confidence in 'teaching' the young boy, he did not wear any facial protective gear. Which, in the end, turned out to be a big mistake seeing as he now gained a broken, bloody nose because of it._

" _Why you little! How dare you strike me!?" The man wiped his sensitive nose of the blood dripping from it and picked back up his wooden weapon. "I'll beat you so hard you'll never dare to even look at me again!"_

 _Kazuto braced himself for the coming impact, knowing that it was inevitable after his rash action. But knowing that he defended his sister made the pain worth it in his eyes. He closed his eyes and with gritted teeth, prepared for the swing until the slamming of the sliding door caught everyone's attention._

 _The children's mother, Midori, stood at the frame with a myriad of emotions brewing upon her face. Shock, fear, relief, disbelief and rage were the most apparent to the young siblings. But seeing all those more angered emotions being pointed to their grandfather was all the more surprising as she stormed up to the man who still had his shinai raised._

" _Father, what are you doing to my children!?" Midori yelled at the man, knocking the shinai to the floor as she moved herself between him and the kids. She spared them both a quick look and pointed to the door. "Suguha, take your brother and get some ice. He's going to need it to reduce the coming swelling."_

" _But mom-"_

 _A silent point to the door made it clear there was no room for argument. The younger of the two picked up her sibling and walked out of the dojo. The mother and grandfather both kept their composure until the door was closed behind the kids._

 _That was when Midori exploded._

 _Smack and smack was given to her father, her rage at both hearing the abuse and seeing her children injured making her throw caution to the wind. "How dare you! How dare you lay a hand on my children, you monster!"_

 _The man did naught to fight back against his daughter, the pain of his own broken nose proving to be too much of an annoyance to focus on other things. "Do not call me a monster, Midori! I told you how I planned on teaching those two and they treated my training so ungratefully. Especially that filthy Kazuto who slacked off and ignored my lessons day to day!"_

" _That doesn't give you the right to hit him or Suguha for that matter! They're children, not some animal that you can hit until they learn!" Midori shoved the man to the ground. "Are you so pathetic that beating children is the only way for you to feel important again!?"_

 _The elder Kirigaya got up from the push and grabbed his daughter by her blouse. "You should be thanking me for trying to turn that failure Kazuto into something! He's just like his mother, a complete failure in every way no matter what I do to shape him!"_

 _Another, harder slap sent the man once again to the ground as tears poured from Midori's eyes. "You piece of trash! Did your own second daughter mean nothing to you? Did she mean so little after she married a man who you didn't approve of just because he made her happy!? To mock the dead… Is there no low you won't sink to!? Are their graves just a spitting ground for you!?"_

" _The only low I see is that bastard Kazuto! You welcome him into your home and treat him as your own when in reality he holds none of your blood. He is a leech, a stranger to this family. Yet you treat him like he deserves all the attention in the world. He belonged to that disowned brat and nobody else!"_

" _... Get out…"_

" _What did you just say to me?"_

 _Midori grabbed the man off the floor and hurled him to the door. "GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"_

 _There was a continuously loud amount of screaming to be had for the next hour or so. The noise having since scared the two children back into their rooms once loud stomping was heard coming for the sliding door. Suguha and Kazuto had stayed by the door, listening in on the anger fueled conversation and overheard the truth about Kazuto before they ran to his room once Midori drew near the door._

 _Kazuto wasn't a true Kirigaya. He wasn't even Suguha's brother._

 _The boy felt overwhelmed by this bombshell of a revelation if his silence was anything to go off of. Despite shaking him for a bit, Suguha had no way to get the boy's attention. He sat there, unmoving after having sat down on his bed with no sign of emotion to be had. The unnerving calm before the storm made the young girl nervous for a good few moments before the dam finally had burst. It broke her heart to see her brother sobbing uncontrollably at the truth being revealed to him. There was no way to feel the pain that tore at him, of knowing his actually mother and father were gone. So she did the only thing she could do in this situation. Held him close as he sobbed away his sorrows._

 _She held Kazuto close to her chest, wrapping her hands around his head to ease the sadness away. It seemed to do something for him since he wrapped his own hands around her waist to pull her in closer. Suguha rubbed her brother's head in a soothing manner as the sobs began to fade._

" _Kazuto. I know it hurts a lot. That you have every right to be sad and cry as much as you want. But I don't care what grandpa says and I don't care if you aren't related to me by blood. You're my older brother Kazuto, now and forever. No one can ever say anything that can convince me otherwise."_

 _The hug grew all the tighter on Kazuto's end, holding on as he squeezed out every emotion that he could. Suguha was all the willing to take in the expression of gratitude of her brother. She would always be there for him as a rock, a pillar to stand by in times of need. That assurance didn't need to be said, only felt between the two siblings as they held each other close._

" _Thank you Suguha… Thank you so much…"_

" _You're welcome Kazuto. I love you, brother."_

* * *

-November 5, 2022. Four years later-

The bell rang across the school, signaling the day's end for learning which tore Kazuto from his thoughts. The lecture his teacher was going on about had bored him to exhaustion with the boy having long since know about the basic operations of computers. He thought that a course in Technological Science would've been interesting enough but the snail pace learning style he has to go under with the other students made it a slow tread. With nothing left to do, the boy packed his bag up and made his way to the door.

Or at least he would if three other guys didn't drag him along to the back of the classroom.

The three boys looked at him with a desperate look on their faces. This whole situation was so familiar to Kazuto and yet so tired. These three from the robotics club approached him time and again to join but each and every time, he refused. What made them think now was going to be any different?

"Oi, Kazuto! Have you given any more thought into joining the club? We could really use someone like you for the upcoming demonstration."

The Kirigaya had to only sigh and shake his head at them to make the trio understand that he wasn't interested. Though, some extra words hurt no one. "Look, I just don't see the point in building robots just to have them break each other apart in a 'fight'. It seems pointless to make something just to destroy it." He reached into his pocket and glanced at the time, which made him shrug past the trio. "I really don't have time to be persuaded, okay? I'll see you guys on Monday."

Whatever words came from them, Kazuto paid no heed to. He couldn't really afford to be late to where he was headed. He quickly walked through the school, reaching the gate to where a familar face was waiting for him.

"Kazuto! Hey, let's walk home!"

It was always nice that Suguha made an effort to wait for him after school. Made the walk back home all the better having someone he actually knew to talk to. Even more so that he didn't have to fake his way through a conversation with her. No one around the two even had any sort of interest in computers or the like, outside of toying around on their smartphones.

Walking up to his sister, Kazuto patted her on the head in a familiar greeting but shook his head. "Sorry Sugu, I've got somewhere to be."

The younger of the two pouted at her sibling at this news. "Aww, really?"

"Yeah, it's something important. Tell mom that I'll try to be home before dinner. See you!"

"Love you, brother!" She called after him as he began running down the street. With a soft sigh she began to walk in the other direction back home. The young girl usually found the walk boring without her brother to chat to. The other girls would rather focus on gossip and trends while the boys would just look at her as any other cute face. No real meaning to be had trying to converse with them, especially if she was the subject of gossip.

Whispers from the other girls reached Suguha's ears, which weren't even trying to be concealed in her opinion. " _There she was again, waiting for that brother of hers."_

" _That's so weird that she only really talks to him, right?"_

" _So many boys have their eyes on her and she can only focus on Kazuto. I bet she feels smug, being so popular."_

" _I bet there's something freaky going on between those two!"_

" _You don't mean their-"_

And it was at that point that Suguha put in her earphones and played some music to drown out the girl's gossip. There it was like clockwork every time she walked back home, with Kazuto or not. The distraction of conversation usually allowed the siblings to ignore such baseless rumors but by herself made things much more annoying. It was no secret that she and her brother didn't socialize much. More often than not, rather taking in each other's presence than being around others. Ever since the revelation at their true ties as cousins rather than siblings, the two of them became even more tight knit than ever. To the point of being socially inept at talking to others. So she didn't care what others had to say on the matter or whatever nasty rumors spread about them. Their relationship as siblings was much more important than that.

After walking to the beat of music for a while, Suguha made her way home. She entered the house and took off her shoes by the door. "Mom, I'm home!"

"Hello honey! Is Kazuto with you?" Midori called from the kitchen.

The girl made her way to the voice, seeing her mother preparing to cook dinner. She gave a shake of her head while grabbing an apron for herself. "No, he said he had somewhere to go."

"Really? That's the fourth time this week. Normally the two of you are inseparable." The woman took in her daughter's shrug at face value, but she knew the girl was the slightest bit lonely.

While Midori was saddened that the kids had to learn the truth of their relationship hard way, it was a relief to her that they seemed closer than ever through it. Though their dependence on each other truly started to show when they entered junior high. She noticed at very few, if any at all points that either of them brought anyone home from school to socialize. The only exceptions was working on school projects and other students following them home. The Kirigaya siblings only seemed to need each other which made the mother worry sightly. She knew that this sort of dependence of each other could only hurt their social skills but didn't know how to approach the subject.

But she supposed if the two of them were staying out of trouble and making good grades, the it wasn't too much of a problem. But if this sort of behavior continued into high school, that would be the time to say something.

Within an hour or so, the sound of the front door opening and quickly slamming shut caught both women by surprise. Suguha peeked out the kitchen to see Kazuto quickly running up to his room, a very real smile on his face while doing so. Looking to Midori for approval, the younger girl ran up the stairs when she saw the nodding head. Without so much as knocking, Suguha burst through the door which caused Kazuto quite the scare. He quickly scrambled to cover something with his pillow before facing his sister. "S-Suguha! Don't you know how to knock!?"

"Isn't it rude just to burst on through the door and not even say hi to me or mom?" She countered. Taking a smug sense of satisfaction in seeing her brother squirm slightly at the statement. Looking over to his side, the girl took a step to the bedside which only made Kazuto move to cover the object more. "What is that?"

"N-Nothing!"

"Kazuto. Do I have to look what's under there by force?"

The way she began to move her fingers unnerved the brother slightly. After weighing his options for a moment, a defeated sigh left his lips and got up from the bed. "Well it was meant as a surprise but… Well here you go Suguha."

Her confusion only lasted a moment before a gasp of surprise came out from her lips. From it's hiding spot emerged the box of the VR helmet device, the NerveGear. Alongside it was the copy of the hottest new game for the device, Sword Art Online. "B-But how? I thought all copies were sold out?"

"That's why I've been busy after school." Kazuto confessed, scratching the back of his head. "I was running all around Akihabara and numerous hole in the wall gaming stores to try and find them. It wasn't easy, let me tell you that much but thanks to a forum thread for the beta testers of the game, I managed to snag one. What do yo- Oof!"

The wind was knocked out of the sibling as Suguha lunged herself forward and wrapped the boy in a near bone crushing hug.

"You're the best, Kazuto! You are the best big brother ever!"

"W-Woah, easy there Suguha!" Kazuto said. "You're gonna crush me at this rate."

Suguha got off her brother, but the big grin was still present on her face. "Oh man, I can't believe we get to play this game together on the opening day! The servers go live tomorrow at 1pm, right?"

"Yeah." Kazuto nodded. "We'll log on together and I'll show you around the Town of Beginnings."

"Can we do some hunting too? I want to try battle in the virtual world." the teen's excitement was plain to see.

Kazuto nodded his head. "Sure thing. It's definitely a lot different than any other games you've played, trust me."

"Come to think of it, what's your name in the game?" Suguha asked. "You use your usual handle?"

"Yep. Kirito's always been my name in MMOs."

"Honestly, I would have thought you'd try and be a little more original." Suguha said with a disappointed sigh. "It's almost as boring as using your real name."

"Oh and you're name is so great? Leafa. Really brings the coolness factor to a max, huh?"

"Oh shut up." Suguha said with a giggle as she delivered a playful hit to her brother. A smile was on her face. Games were the place that the two of them had always connected best. The one medium where they could truly have each others back.

"Okay so let's figure out our game plan for when we log on." Kazuto suggested.

Suguha nodded her head. "Yeah, we need to figure out a way to do as much as possible."

Hours passed as the two siblings chatted away about what they would do. Kazuto had been a beta tester, so his experience came in handy with how to best plan their day. Even after dinner was over, the two siblings retreated to Kazuto's room once again and continued planning.

* * *

-The next morning-

"Kazuto? Suguha?"

"Mmmm…" the two siblings blinked opened their groggy eyes. The sight of Midori standing over them slowly came into view. "Hey mom." they both greeted.

Midori shook her head. "Honestly, you two are too much. When I opened the door and found two people in your bed Kazuto, I had thought you'd finally gotten a girlfriend. But it was just another one of your late night "strategy meetings", wasn't it?"

"Sorry mom." Kazuto said with a light-hearted chuckle. "Sugu and I were figuring out what to do for the opening day of Sword Art Online."

"Well you'd best hurry up. It's almost noon."

"Noon?!" the sibling duo gasped together. They quickly scrambled off of Kazuto's bed.

"I've got the shower first! You go get lunch ready!" Suguha told her brother.

"On it! Salad work for you?"

"Whatever's quickest! I don't want to log off early 'cause I'm hungry later."

Midori let out a light hearted giggle. ' _Those two sure are something else.'_

After a quick lunch and each of them taking showers, it was 12:50. Kazuto and Suguha quickly rushed into their rooms and closed their doors.

"I'll meet you by the main square where you should start." Kazuto called out to Suguha's room. "Just try and make it easy for me to spot you."

"Got it!" Suguha called back.

The two Kirigaya siblings plugged in the software and inserted Sword Art Online. They each put their Nerve Gear on and closed their eyes, big grins on both of their faces as they entered the virtual world.

"Link Start!"

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **So everyone, what did you think of the first chapter? As you can see, the dynamic of the Kirigaya siblings is quite different than from the canon of the show. And trust me when I say this will have an impact over the events of the story as a result. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed my first outing into SAO territory and hopefully you'll be back for more. R &R if you liked it and have a good day or night!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sibling Steel: Chapter 2**

 **A/N: Okay everyone, glad to see all the positive buzz my first chapter got. Many reviews, favs and follows are a good confidence booster for my continuing this series.**

 **Now, one question that I have frequently got from both reviews and PM's is that if this is going to be a KiriSugu fic. I will tell you 100% that this is not one of those fics.**

 **I have nothing against the people who ship this couple but as started in the chapter before, both Sugu and Kazuto usually ignored or were annoyed at the gossip that there was something going on between them. Their relationship is purely platonic and familial.**

 **Sorry to those who wished to see this pairing but it will not happen in that way. Hopefully, you'll all still be interested where this story heads.**

 **That being said, thank you all for your interest in this fic and I can only hope I continue to entertain you all with this story. Enjoy!**

* * *

A myriad of colors flashed in Suguha's face once she activated the NerveGear with her shout. A screen appeared in front of her asking to confirm everything about her account as correct. With a few quick swipes, the menus were cleared away into a void of white that soon gave way into a blue flash. Once the light cleared, she found herself in the middle of a bustling town square.

Numerous merchants were shouting from every angle for people to try out their wares. Players of many shapes and sizes were all freaking out over experiencing Full Dive for the first time while others simply ran around observing everything they could. In that same vein was Suguha overwhelmed by the scope of everything happening around her. She was always jealous that she couldn't be one of the beta testers alongside her brother while he got to gush about how amazing it was.

' _That brother of mine… He got to experience all this while I was stuck playing regular MMO's on my computer. He better treat me to something good to make up for this.'_ She thought while moving around the square.

She chatted with a few NPCs to see what items they had and where areas like the town's blacksmith and inn was located. Despite being called the Town of Beginnings, it felt less like a town and more of a city with all the hubbub around.

So enthralled she was about looking around about everything, that she didn't notice one person trying to get her attention until they flicked her in the back of the head. Sugu was about ready to shout this person a new one for being so rude until the hand was caught by a familiar smiling face.

Well, familiar kind of being a loose term here since her brother looked much more mature than IRL.

"Hey, I was trying to get your attention for the past five minutes." Kazuto laughed, giving a familiar pet to her head which eased the girl. "Didn't I say to wait for me in the square?"

"Can you really expect me to wait when I'm greeted by all this amazing stuff?" The smiled widely with a quick spin to take in her surroundings. "It's so lifelike! I can hardly tell the difference!"

The older sibling laughed at her enthusiasm. Clearly the euphoria of a first timer's Full Dive experience wasn't lost on her. "Sorry about my tardiness but I had to take a bit of extra time at the menus to confirm my beta account settings."

"Is there really anything all that important in doing that?" She looked to her brother's name above his head and saw he was the same as her. Just level 1 alongside his name, Kirito.

"Well I did get to keep a few items from the beta, like some armor and a blade or two." Kirito scrolled through his menu to check what was saved. He was disappointed to see the one sword he really liked in the beta wasn't there but it made sense. The developers probably didn't want beta players to start off with an unfair advantage over the rest of the player base. "Here, open up your trade menu Sug- I mean Leafa. That's gonna take some getting used to."

Leafa swiped open her own menu and accepted her brother's gift of a new sword and chestplate that was better than her current equipment along with a few healing crystals. With a blue flash, her armor and sheathed sword changed while the old ones went into her inventory. "Wow, that was quick! This menu sure is useful."

"Alright, now that we're both stocked up. Let me show you the ropes about combat."

"Hey, did you guys say combat?"

Kirito and Leafa both turned to see a male player approaching them. He had long red hair and was rather scruffy looking around the chin. Judging by his casual appearance it was clear that he recently logged in with the others. "Got room for one more?"

"I'm not sure…" Leafa started. It's not like there was any risk to joining up with this guy as he looked harmless enough. But there was the fact that she really wanted to spend some one on one time with her brother before going to chat with other players.

The man clasped his hands together and bowed his head slightly down. "Aw, come on! Please? I really want to know how to fight so I can show my friends!"

"I don't see the harm in teaching two people." Kirito concluded which surprised his sister. "Just be sure not to make yourself look lame."

"Ha, I'll show you dude!" The redhead smirked with a fistbump. "I'm the coolest guy I know!"

Leafa rolled her eyes at his overconfidence. "Must be very little competition for that milestone."

"Hey, that was rude little miss!"

* * *

"Wow, and here I had hope for you." Kirito said with pity after seeing the enemy boar nail him in the unmentionables.

"Shut up." Klein groaned as he held his hands at his groin while he laid on the ground.

Kirito let out a sigh. "Seriously man? You can't get hurt here in VR. The pain absorber's on."

Klein blinked his eyes in surprise. "Oh yeah, you're right."

"Try and remember what I said." Kirito told him. "The first move is the most important."

"Easy for you to say." Klein said as he got back up. "But the damn boar won't sit still."

"If you do your initial motion right, and activate a sword skill at the right time, the system almost always guarantees you a hit."

"Initial… motion?"

"Here, let me show you." Kirito said as he reached for a pebble off the ground. Before he could grab it however, he felt his sister grab his arm. "What?"

"Uh uh, no way. I am not listening to another one of your Pig Smiting Pebble stories again." Leafa sternly told him.

"Come on, I don't do it that often."

"Not! Happening!"

Kirito let out a disappointed sigh. "Fine then. You show him how it's done, little miss expert."

"With pleasure." Leafa said as she stepped forward. She took a stance and aimed her sights of the Field Boar in front of her. Slowly, her sword began to glow. With one swift motion, she sprung forward and thrust her blade. "Hyyyaaaaahhh!"

As Leafa's blade cut through the boar, the animal let out a cry of pain before shattering. She turned around to see Klein with his mouth wide open, and Kirito with a nod of approval.

"There, now you try." Leafa said with a smug grin.

Klein mumbled something under his breath before continuing. It took another hour or so, but both Klein and Leafa were managing to get the hang of combat in the virtual world. With a good amount of training done, the three of them decided to take a break.

"I still can't believe it." Klein said. "We're inside a game."

"And you kept this all to yourself during the beta." Leafa pouted. "You're treating me to something nice later."

"Seriously? How is it my fault that you didn't get a slot in the beta?" Kirito argued.

"Don't argue mister!"

Klein looked at Kirito and Leafa, noticing how casually they talked between each other. "You two sure seem close. You dating or something IRL?"

Kirito shook his head, quickly correcting the red haired man. "No, we're siblings you see."

"Oh. Brother and sister. I see." Klein said. "Hard to tell since you don't look anything alike here." Slowly, a grin came to his face. "But hey, siblings can still do some nasty stuff. I don't judge."

Before Kirito could say anything, Leafa quickly drew her sword and pointed it at Klein. "Care to repeat that?"

Klein gulped and quickly shook his head. "Got it, nothing going on between you. Loud and clear."

"Good." Leafa said as she put her blade back into its sheath. Suddenly everyone heard a growl come from the girl's stomach.

"Someone sounds hungry." Kirito said with a grin.

"Yeah… maybe a little." Leafa admitted.

"Me too." Klein said. "That's why I ordered a pizza for 5:30." He got up and looked at the sibling duo. "I'm gonna logout now. Don't want that pizza to get cold."

"Have fun." Kirito waved.

"You know… I'm gonna be meeting up with some friends of mine later if you wanna join." Klein offered. He quickly noticed Kirito and Leafa gave each other nervous looks. "Hey it's cool, no pressure. You can meet them another time. Anyway, see you."

Kirito and Leafa watched as Klein began to walk away. "He seems nice." Kirito said.

Leafa nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah. Kinda weird though."

"Hey guys. You got a second?" Klein called back. "I think something's wrong with the menu. The logout button is gone."

"Seriously?" Kirito asked. Both he and Leafa looked at each other with narrowed eyes. They each swiped their menus open to check for themselves. Just as Klein had said, the logout tab was missing, left completely blank.

' _What's going on?'_ Kirito wondered.

Before anyone could say anything further, the sound of a bell echoed throughout the area. Kirito, Leafa, and Klein all paused and listened to the bell. Then, before they knew what was happening, each of them became surrounded in an azure light.

"Kazuto!"

"Sugu!"

* * *

When the light finally died down, Kirito found himself back in the square of the Town of Beginnings. Several lights appeared around the area, teleporting player after player in.

"Brother!" a sudden call came. Kirito turned and saw Leafa and Klein standing near him. Leafa looked at her brother worriedly. "Kirito, what's happening?"

"I'm not sure." Kirito said. "I think everyone went through some kind of forced teleportation."

"Hey! What's that up there!" someone shouted.

Simultaneously, Kirito, Leafa, and Klein all looked up at the sky. A blinking red message was seen above them, reading 'System Announcement'.

"Is this some kind of tutorial?" a player asked.

Soon, the message multiplied around the sky, turning the entire sky into a bloody red color. Ooze dripped down from above, forming together into a single figure. It formed someone in a giant red robe.

"Greetings players." the robed figure spoke. "I welcome you all, to my world. My name is Akihiko Kayaba, head programer and developer of Sword Art Online."

Several gasps followed after what the person had said. This was Kayaba, the creator of the very game they were all in at this moment.

"I'm sure many of you have noticed an item missing from your menu by now. The logout button." Kayaba spoke. "I would like to tell you all that this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was originally developed."

"What… what's he saying?" Leafa asked, as her body began to shiver in fear.

"As of this moment, you will be unable to logout of Sword Art Online. There is another important detail I would like to mention." Kayaba added. "If anyone attempts to remove the Nerve Gear, the device will send an electric signal that will fry your brain, ending your life."

Klein couldn't believe what he was hearing. "He's kidding… right?"

"This has to be a joke, right bro? Right?" Leafa asked pleadingly as she looked at Kirito.

"... It's true." Kirito admitted. "The inside of the Nerve Gear is built just like a microwave. Without the safety, it can easily kill you."

Leafa and Klein both gasped in fear. Kayaba continued on with his speech. "Despite my warnings, several people have already tried to remove the Nerve Gear. As a result, the game now has two hundred and thirteen less players than before. In addition, you should also know that if your HP reaches zero, you will die in both the real and virtual world."

At the mention of that, every single player in the square fell silent. None of them could believe this was happening.

"There is only one way to escape. You must beat the game." Kayaba explained. "You are all currently gathered on Floor 1 of Aincrad. If you find and defeat the boss of this Floor, you can proceed onto Floor 2. Continue to defeat the boss on each floor and make your way up to the top on Floor 100. Do so, and you will clear the game and be able to escape."

"We have to clear all 100 floors? That's freaking impossible." Klein said. "Even the beta testers never even made it that high!"

"Lastly, I have placed an item inside the storage of every player." Kayaba said. "Please, have a look."

Kirito and Leafa did as they were told, each of them finding a mirror. Before they could ask what it was for, everyone found themselves engulfed by light once again. When they could see again, Kirito looked over at Leafa, only to find that she looked nothing like her. Or rather too much like her. Her appearance was exactly the same as how she looked in the real world.

"Suguha? Is that you?" Kirito asked.

Leafa looked at her brother and gasped. "Kazuto?! How come you look like you do in the real world?!"

"I… I don't know." Kirito said. Looking over at Klein, they noticed he seemed different as well.

After giving the players a moment to realize what had happened, Kayaba continued on. "I'm sure many of you are currently wondering "Why?". Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online, do all this. Ultimately my goal was a simple one. Simply put, my goal was to be in control of a world of my design. As you can see, I have achieved that goal."

"Kayaba…" Kirito growled.

"It is important to keep the following in mind. There is no longer any way to revive someone. There is no longer any way to logout. And if your HP reaches zero, the Nerve Gear will fry your brain, ending your life. Players, I wish you the best of luck."

With that said, Kayaba vanished into thin air, letting the players have reality slowly sink in. Slowly, and gradually, people slowly began to panic.

Kirito quickly acted and tapped Klein and Leafa on the shoulder. "Follow me."

The trio quickly made their way away from the square and into an alleyway. "Listen, we need to get moving. The longer we wait, the faster all the hunting spots and item drops will be taken up. Since I was in the beta, I know my way around the area. I can lead us to the next town easy, even if I'm level 1."

Leafa nodded her head in agreement. "Alright, I'm with you brother."

"Umm guys?" Klein spoke. "I'm sorry but… I can't go with you."

"What?!" Both siblings exclaimed.

"You know those friends of mine I mentioned?" Klein asked. "Well they're all still back at the square. I can't just leave them like that."

Kirito and Leafa both looked at each other. If it was just Klein, then they'd be fine. But having to carry even more players?

"You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up." Klein assured them. "Besides with all the stuff you taught me, I'll be fine."

Kirito hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. "Alright. Leafa and I will be in Tsolvana. It's two towns over from here. If you want, message me when you're there and I'll teach you and your friends some more stuff."

Klein nodded his head. "Got it. See you around, you two. Oh and Kirito?"

"Yeah?"

"You look… better like that. Way cooler than your avatar."

A small smile came to Kirito's lips. "Yeah and that scruffy face fits you ten time more too."

Klein let out a chuckle. "And Leafa. Those things definitely look bigger than bef- Oof!" Klein was cut off as Leafa shoved her fists into his gut.

"Don't make me regret befriending you Klein." Leafa sternly told him.

Klein let out a weak chuckle as he got back up. "Guess I deserved that. Anyway, see you around."

Kirito and Leafa watched as Klein ran off back to the square. The two looked at each other and nodded, running off towards the town gate.

The sun was starting to set as the sibling duo ran out of the Town of Beginnings. They ran together towards the next town. As they did, a wolf spawned in front of them. Both Kirito and Leafa each drew their blades.

' _I'll protect you, Kazuto.'_

' _I won't let anything happen to you, Sugu.'_

They each let out a cry as they slashed through the wolf and moved on. ' _We're going to survive in this world!'_

* * *

 **A/N: Well now the adventure begins proper. Needless to say that things are going to be majorly different than how it happens in the canon show. With Leafa's inclusion, we have many new doors for stories and moments that weren't possible before. Now as for the length of these chapters, I am going to be sticking to my Grimmborn rule of usually no more than 4k words at a time unless it's for an important story moment. So that I may keep these chapters coming at a consistent schedule. Next update will be for Grimmborn so look forward to that. Drop a review if you liked it and have a nice day or night, time zones depending.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! Glad to see the reception for this fic going strong and I am more than willing to provide! Now questions have been asked if I am going to be following the anime timeline or branch off and do more from Progressive. Now I will say that while I won't just follow the anime. With Suguha being here, the possibilities for more storylines and interactions are very great. As such I want to explore Aincrad with these siblings as much as possible. I hope you're all gonna be looking forward to it.**

 **And sorry for the near month long wait. Balancing two plus fics is a task let me tell ya.**

 **But anyways forget my ramblings, enjoy the newest chapter everyone!**

 **Edit Notice: After several people have pointed out, I misspelled Argo's nickname for Kirito as Ki-bao instead of Ki-bou. This has been corrected. Thank you for the notice readers.**

* * *

Kirito and Leafa sat together on one of the two beds in the room they shared. The two were currently looking at a map Kirito had brought up on his menu, showing some of the fields near the town they were currently in.

After leaving the Town of Beginnings, Kirito and Leafa had fought their way past a few mobs of monsters before finally reaching the next town. They didn't stay long however. After quickly doing a quest to grab a weapon known as the Annealed Blade for each of them, they had set off the next day. Kirito had known about a good hunting spot in the next town over and wanted to take advantage of it before swarms of other players started showing up and began hogging it.

"Ok, I'd say it'll be at least a day or so before a good amount of players make it here." Kirito said. "But when they do, the first ones to get here will probably be beta testers like me, and will know about the good spots to hunt and farm."

Leafa nodded her head understandingly. "So where should we focus around for tomorrow?"

"I'd say our best bet will be to hit each of them for a little bit at a time." Kirito explained. He pointed to different areas on the map. "So here we have a place where mobs tend to drop lots of cash. We'll need to grab some cash so we can stay stocked up on potions and crystals, not to mention for weapon upgrades. That brings us over here." Kirito brought his finger to another point. "Monsters here will usually drop metals more frequently. Grabbing some should allow us an upgrade or two at one of the NPC blacksmiths in town."

"Any good places to grind for EXP?" Leafa asked. "I only managed to get to level 2 just before we got here."

Kirito nodded his head. "Thinking ahead as always sis. We can do some grinding over here." he explained, pointing to another location. "The monsters are a bit tougher, but they give out good amounts of EXP without us having to fight a field boss or anything. Right now, we should play it safe and avoid any type of boss until we're fully prepared. Usually I'd suggest we take as much advantage of each place as we can by splitting up, but that's not a good idea right now."

Leafa nodded her head in agreement. It was still hard to fathom for her. They were seriously trapped in this game. A game where if you died, you died in the real world too. What kind of psychopath was Kayaba Akihiko to want something like this?

"Kazuto…" Leafa said. "Do you think we're really gonna be able to make it out of this game? You said it yourself, you only made it to Floor 8 in the beta. That's still another 92 Floors we know nothing about." A frown came to the girl's face as she huddled up and hugged her legs. "I'm scared. What if we don't make it out of here? What if one of us dies? What if-" Leafa was cut off as Kirito suddenly started to pat her head affectionately, much like he had done in the past.

"Neither of us are going to die Leafa. I promise to protect you."

Leafa looked up at her brother, showing her the same warm smile he always used to comfort her. It was because of him that she had made it this far. It was because of each other that they could do whatever they set their minds to.

"Ok." Leafa said. "I trust you Kazuto."

"And remember, it's Kirito while we're in here." Kirito reminded her. "You can't go calling me by my real name when we're out in public."

"Right, sorry." Leafa said. She curled up on the bed, laying next to her brother. "Well what are you waiting for? Lay down."

"Huh? But there's two beds."

"Are you saying you're not going to comfort your little sister when she's scared? For shame brother. I thought you were better than that."

Kirito let out a sigh while Leafa smirked. She always had a way of getting what she wanted by playing the little sister angle. He crawled into bed next to her and closed his eyes. Leafa did the same with a smile on her face. "Goodnight Kirito."

"Goodnight scaredy cat." Kirito's comment was quickly replied to with a hit from his sister. "Goodnight Leafa."

"Better." Leafa said with a giggle as she drifted off to sleep along with her brother.

* * *

 _-Two Days Later-_

"Come on, you've gotta keep your stance!"

"I'm trying!"

Kirito sighed as he shook his head. "Klein, how exactly have you been teaching these guys?"

"Oh, so it's my fault?" Klein asked.

"Well I know anyone who learned from Kirito sure wouldn't be this sloppy." Leafa commented.

It had been just yesterday that Kirito and Leafa had been training out in the fields when they had received a message from Klein. He and his friends were on their way to the town Kirito had told them to meet at. This morning, they had arrived in town. After meeting up with them, Kirito and Leafa had been training the group to teach them what they could.

"Klein, didn't you tell them anything about letting the system control your movement for the sword skill?" Kirito asked.

"Of course I did!" Klein said.

"No you didn't!" one of his friends said.

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he looked at Klein, who rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Kirito let out a sigh. "Alright, guess it's best to show you guys. Leafa, you're up."

"Right." Leafa said, walking up and drawing her sword. The girl took a stance, waiting for her blade to glow. As it did, she swung her blade forward, unleashing a sword skill. Klein's friends stared on in awe.

"See, just like that." Kirito said. "Once you get your initial motion right, drive it home by starting the skill and let the system control your movements for you. Don't force any movement on yourself unless absolutely necessary." The group nodded their heads understandingly. "Good. Now try it."

It took awhile, but Kirito slowly began to see improvement in Klein and his friends. Of course, simply swinging a sword at nothing would only do so much, so they had a few sparring sessions using the duel system, with First Hit Rule of course. No one wanted to take the risk of anything more considering the fear of death looming over their heads. Klein falling to Leafa in the course of five seconds sure did a good job at improving the mood though.

By the time the sun was beginning to set, Kirito felt that Klein's group had learned enough to survive on their own. He and Leafa split up from the others, waving goodbye and wishing them the best of luck.

Kirito and Leafa walked through the town, figuring out where to go eat for dinner. As they did, a small chuckle caught the ears of the raven haired beta tester.

"Hehehe, sounds like you've been putting the skills you learned in the beta to good use."

"Gah!" Kirito jumped at the sudden voice appearing next to him. He looked at the mystery arrival, reaching for the hilt of his sword. "Who are you?"

"What's the matter? Forget these whiskers already, Ki-bou?" the newcomer said with a sly grin, drawing attention to the red whiskers painted on her cheeks.

"Ki-bou? Hold on, the only person who calls me that is…" Kirito's eyes widened. "Is that you, Argo?"

"Took ya long enough." Argo said. "I saw ya teaching those newbies some moves. Seems you haven't lost your skills from the beta."

"Umm… Kirito, who is this?" Leafa asked.

"I could ask the same, Ki-bou." Argo added. "Never thought you'd team up with anyone this quickly." She eyed the girl up and down for a bit until her eyes fell at Leafa's bouncy chest. "Ah, I see now. So you're into those kinds of girls, eh?"

"Wh-What?! N-No, it's not what it looks like, Argo!" Kirito exclaimed with a red blush. "This is Leafa. She's my sister." He then turned to Leafa. "Leafa, this is Argo. She was a beta tester like me. She's an info broker."

"And the Ki-bou thing?"

Kirito simply shrugged. "That's the nickname she came up with for me."

Argo threw an arm around Kirito. "Hey now, I put a lot of thought into that. Is that anyway to treat a master info broker?"

Leafa narrowed her eyes at the girl's closeness to her brother. "You sure seem pretty close to her, Kirito. Just what were you two in the beta?"

Argo smirked as she looked directly at Leafa. "Oh, jealous are we? Maybe you're closer to him than a sibling after all."

"Wha- no! Don't be ridiculous!" Leafa exclaimed.

"Mhm, sure." Argo said. "Well, I got work to do. See you around Ki-bou." She waved goodbye as she walked away. "You take care too, Mega Milk."

"Mega Milk?!" Leafa exclaimed, showing a deep red blush, causing Argo to giggle as she left. Leafa became seething with rage. "That girl… who does she think she is?!"

"Uhh… sis?" Kirito said. "You might want to tone it down a little."

Leafa quickly noticed the multiple eyes on her from her outburst. The attention on her only caused her to blush more before quickly darting away, followed by her brother.

* * *

Night darkened the sky, leaving only the twinkling stars to provide any light. Most if not all players were asleep currently, resting up for the next day. However, Kirito stared up at the ceiling of his room as restlessness took hold in his veins.

Kirito looked at Leafa resting beside him in the bed. She was fast asleep, almost to the point where he thought she was going to start snoring. Slowly he got out of the bed, careful not to wake her. He equipped his sword and silently left the room. Perhaps tiring himself out a bit more would let him fall asleep.

Kirito walked through the town's streets, all of them almost completely barren, save the NPCs walking around. He walked for a bit before reaching the town gate, leaving it and going out into the fields.

The raven haired swordsman recalled some of the few occasions he had dived during night in the beta. Monsters were slightly more powerful than usual, but nothing too major. The real danger night caused was how much easier it was to get caught in an ambush by monsters. But as long as he stuck to the open fields, Kirito knew he would be fine. Beast after beast fell as Kirito slashed through them with his sword. The monsters would cry out before shattering into fragments, returning to the silence of the night.

' _I have to get stronger.'_ Kirito told himself as he cut down another monster. ' _I have to if I'm going to be able to protect Sugu.'_ As the last of the mob he was currently fighting shattered, Kirito stared at his sword, seeing his reflection in it. ' _Can I really do it though? Do I have the skill, the power, to protect her?'_

He thought back on the past few years. The two of them had always looked out for each other. At school, they could only rely on each other. Everyone else, they barely spoke a word to. Most of them only offering selfish motives or biting gossip. Whenever they were playing games, they always had each other's back.

But Sword Art Online was no ordinary game.

' _Death in this world means death in the real world.'_ Kirito reminded himself. ' _No matter what, I can't let that happen to her. Even if it costs me my life, I have to protect her. And that's why I have to get stronger.'_

Kirito's trail of thought was cut off by the sudden sound of footsteps in the grass. He turned around and saw a hooded player with a broadsword sheathed at their back.

"I see I'm not the only one doing some late night leveling." Kirito said. "If you're aiming for the mobs here pal, sorry but I just picked 'em clean. It'll be a bit before they respawn."

"... What a fool you are."

"Excuse me?" Kirito asked with narrowed eyes.

In response, the player reached for his sword and unsheathed it, pointing the blade at Kirito. "I will save you from your suffering."

Kirito widened his eyes as the player suddenly charged at him. He quickly rolled out of the way as a slash came down at him. Rolling along the grass just in time to avoid the slash, Kirito drew his sword. "What do you think you're doing?! You could have killed me!"

"That's the point." the player said as the player once again came at Kirito. Kirito quickly brought his sword up to block the slash. The two blades clashed together as the hood blew off the mystery player. The face revealed showed that of a blonde male in his late teens. But what really caught Kirito's attention was the player's expression. The shaking and shrunk eyes were the telltale signs of a man that had lost his mind.

"Maybe you didn't get the memo pal." Kirito said as he struggled to hold the player's sword back. "Getting killed here means dying in the real world!"

"It's a lie. It has to be." he said. "And I'm going to prove it and save everyone!"

The stalemate ended and Kirito quickly leaped back. This player was clearly strong if their STR stat was enough to push him back. "Save people by killing them? That sounds a little counter-productive to me."

"There's no way you can die in a video game. It's impossible." the player said, his body shaking. "Kayaba's just saying that so we don't all just suicide out and prove he's lying! So I'm going to return everyone to the real world! And then I'll be celebrated as a hero!"

"Open your eyes! It's not a lie! When a player dies in here, the Nerve Gear will fry their brain!" Kirito yelled at him. "The only thing you'll be seen as when you return to the real world is a murderer!"

"Shut up!" the player yelled out, swinging his blade down at Kirito yet again. Kirito tried to evade it, but still received a cut to the shoulder. "You're the one who doesn't get it!" he chuckled to himself. "But don't worry. Once your HP reaches zero, you'll wake up in the real world, just like the other two I've already saved."

Kirito's eyes widened as he heard the player's words. His eyes looked up at the player's cursor, just now noticing it's color. Red.

' _This person's already killed two people.'_ Kirito realized. ' _And now those two people… they're dead. Both here and in the real world.'_

Anger boiled inside Kirito as he lunged forward, slashing at the player. Ironically it was a blessing in disguise that his player was red, since it meant harming him wouldn't turn his cursor orange. "If you think it's all a lie then why don't you go ahead and ' _save'_ yourself?!"

"Not before I've saved everyone else." he said.

' _He's lost it.'_ Kirito thought to himself. He clashed swords with the player again, but just like before he found himself overpowered. Kirito fell back, slamming into the ground. ' _I've gotta get out of here. A teleport crystal.'_ Kirito quickly reached towards his pocket for a teleport crystal, but before he could grab it, a slash came that severed his arm off. Kirito let out a small cry of pain as the limb shattered away, taking out a good chunk of his HP with it.

"Don't worry. It'll all be over in a second." the player said with a chuckle. He raised his sword up and prepared to swing it down at Kirito. "Now I'll send you back to the real world."

"Get away from him!"

A sudden blur came out of nowhere, knocking the player back and away. It took a moment for Kirito to process what had just happened, but he found himself even more shocked when he saw who had come to save him.

"Leafa?!"

"That hurt… you damn girl..." the player groaned as he stood back up.

Leafa glared the player down, the fierceness in her eyes making the PKer back away.. "If you wanna fight, then fight me. But I won't show any mercy." She readied her sword. "Come and get it, you bastard."

The player stepped back, seeing the situation turn against him. He whimpered slightly before turning around and running away.

Kirito's rapidly beating heart started to slow down now that he was free from danger. He fell down onto the dirt ground with a sigh of relief moving out his lungs. "Thanks Leafa. I owe you one- Oof!" Kirito was cut off as Leafa threw herself at him and hugged him tightly, crying out tears.

"You stupid, stupid, idiot!" Leafa cried. "What were you thinking sneaking out like that?! Do you know how worried I was?!"

Kirito frowned as his sister cried into his shirt. This had been the whole reason he hadn't told her when he snuck out. Because he knew she'd be worried and come along with him. ' _But it turns out she was right to worry so hindsight is 20/20 I guess.'_

"I'm sorry." Kirito said.

Leafa looked at her brother with a glare which told him that sorry wasn't gonna cut it. She got up from him and grabbed him by the back of his collar, dragging him along.

"H-Hey! Leafa, what are you doing?!"

"We said we were going to look out for each other." Leafa said. "And I plan on keeping that promise. So from now on, I'm keeping my eye on you every moment of every day."

"E-Every moment?"

"Every. Moment."

Kirito felt nervousness from Leafa's comment, seeing how mad she still was at him. He couldn't exactly blame her, so all he could do was wait for her to calm down from this.

And pray that there weren't any players in town to see him getting dragged along by the back of his shirt. But the swordsman was out of luck seeing some still awake players laugh at him while his sister brought the both of them back to the inn.

* * *

 **A/N: Sisters, eh? (NothatIwouldknowIneverhadasister). *Ahem* But I hope you guys enjoyed chapter and I hope to be working on the next one soon after I finish the update for my RWBY fic. Shoutouts to TheSib once again for helping with the betaing of the fic. Drop a review if you liked it. Peace out everyone.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everyone, back at it again with another chapter just in time for the holoday season! Took a bit longer than usual since I was just the tiniest bit burn out on the mega chapter I posted for my other fic but now I'm back in the saddle and ready to work. Hope you all like what I have in store for you guys!**

* * *

Kirito truly had to wonder how dedicated his sister was going to be about this whole 'never letting him out of sight' thing. It was a constant barrage of stares and closeness that he hadn't experienced ever since they were younger. Breakfast, her eyes were on him. Training out on the fields? Oh yeah her eyes were on him like a hawk.

None was as weird though, as finding Leafa standing below outside the window of the bathroom at the inn they were staying at. There was no sneaking off here and she made sure to press that message into his head.

However if there was one thing that Kirito could say was a blessing in all this, it was the fact that his sister truly started to pick up on everything he had to teach. The two of them made a fantastic team in clearing out mobs while out on the field. Having someone to watch your back, for better or worse felt great. Someone close by to assist and vice versa made their work much easier at the end of the day. The swordsman wiped the sweat from his brow after finishing off another dire wolf and checked out to his sister.

Leafa rolled under the lunging bite from that last dire wolf and brought up her sword to catch it by the hind leg. The wolf rolled down to the ground struggling to get up while the black haired girl activated a sword skill. Blade glowing green, Leafa tore through the monster's head causing it to shatter. She pumped her fist in victory and checked her loot in her menu. "All clear over here Kirito!"

"Good job. That's some movement you got going on there." The black haired teen complimented with a pat on the back. "Dodge work could use some improvement though."

"What? I did just fine, thank you very much!"

"If by 'just fine' you mean getting hit three different times then I'm sure you're golden." Kirito rolled his eyes at the puffed cheeked look Leafa was giving him. "Is it a crime to offer advice when dodging kinda matters?"

The black haired girl briskly walked past her brother in a huff. "That doesn't give you the right to watch my every move like some sort of creep."

Kirito followed his unreasonable sister and coughed into his hand. "Hello kettle. Pot is calling to let you know that you're black and then some."

"Hey, it's not my fault you have some weird wanderlust!"

It seemed that her indignation wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, so it was better for the older brother to just drop it. Despite how much he cared for the girl, Leafa could still act like a brat sometimes. Even with the banter between the two, they were progressing much faster than they thought they would. Yesterday both he and Leafa reached level 7 and 6 respectively while most other players were barely breaking level 5.

His knowledge of the game in its beta stages coupled with Argo's seemingly endless pool of info gave him good access to some primo locations for treasure grinding and mob spawns. Now if only he could get his sister and the info broker to stop antagonizing each other. He didn't need more stress in his life on top of the death game. Other players weren't as fortunate to have someone like a beta tester to show them what to do. People like Klein and his guild being the few exceptions. Kirito often wondered how the guy was doing ever since they parted way but tried not to dwell on it too much. It caused a hard twinge of guilt to pop up in his chest whenever he thought about it for longer than a moment.

Even though the game had been live for barely over a month, there were many ghouling facts that were held high above his head. Despite the players efforts, none of them were able to locate the lair of the first floor boss. Kirito never really went around dungeon crawling in the beta, letting others do it while he just honed his skills. So he wouldn't have the shakiest clue as to where it would be. Another fact that tended to drag everyone down in the dumps was the fact that despite it only being the first floor, over 2,000 people had died.

Some people probably didn't take Kayaba's warning seriously enough and got themselves killed. He had heard stories of some players even going insane and killed themselves for a way to get out. Nothing but death was waiting for them when they drove their blade into themselves, Kirito was sure of that. The Town of Beginnings had now become a solemn area with a good 40 percent of players staying in the safety of the town.

The siblings worked hard to level up above the current monsters so that looming feeling of death would ease off their shoulders. These days Leafa, despite her hawking over him, had been very go getting and eager to hunt and do quests. Though the quests were starting to grow thin with the masses catching up to the duo and draining the fields dry of item drops. Mobs were starting to grow sparse around the more populated areas too. Hitting a way this early into the game would be a big deal if they couldn't get enough people to be strong enough for boss raids.

As it stood right now, even field bosses were considered taboo unless you had a party of at least ten.

Before he knew it, his lost thought wandering caused him to bump into Leafa as they entered the town. The younger sister turned around and poked her sibling on the head. "Hey, stop spacing out. It's still midday you know."

"Sorry. Just mulling over some stuff." He gave his own teasing poke to Leafa while slipping past her. "C'mon let's sell our loot and visit the blacksmith again."

It was a great ease to see his sister playfully charge past him for a race into town. She did her best to try and keep the mood light between them which he appreciated, but didn't tell her outright to avoid her getting carried away. After selling their drops to the NPC saleswoman, the siblings went to the blacksmith and got their gear nice and upgraded. Kirito had his Annealed Blade reach +6 while his armor had been enhanced a decent amount. Leafa more focused on her gear's defense more than power which thankfully made the girl able to take a bit more than other players could. Though tanking was something that she wasn't really aiming for. She'd rather be just comfortable with taking less damage than taking all the abuse in a raid.

"Thank you for your patronage." The blacksmith NPC thanked with a bow as the two left the building.

With themselves feeling more battle ready than before the two were about ready to cart themselves off to the fields once more for some grinding until their menu windows popped up in front of them. Both looked at each other's screen to make sure they both had gotten the same mail from the same sender. Sure enough, this person named Diavel.

 **Message: Attention all players**

 **Sender: Diavel**

 **Greetings all players in Tolbana. My name is Diavel and I wish to share some important news. The location of the first floor boss has been found and I plan on creating a raid team to defeat the boss and progress to the next floor. I ask that any and all players who are willing to fight to meet me in the town square at 3:00 PM so that we may begin a strategy meeting posthaste.**

Kirito had to scan the message a few times to make sure he was reading things right. Some guy group messaged all players in the town to a meeting and the floor boss had finally been found after a month of searching. Checking in the corner of his menu, the clock read 1:34 PM. Meaning they had less than an hour and a half to kill before this meeting even started.

"Doesn't this seem kinda weird?" Leafa said after closing her window. "Who is this guy and doesn't he know it's dangerous to send a mass message like that?"

"No doubt they're gonna be trouble makers in the crowd." Kirito muttered. "Especially those beta tester haters."

The fact that Kirito was a beta tester was something that was kept under wraps after the announcement of the death game. Most beta testers took their knowledge and ran with it, abandoning other players to the wolves as it were. Though that was the rumor which was circulating faster than one could squash it. In reality, Argo had gone out of her way to track these beta players and gather info from them by any means and had been planning on releasing a guide last time he checked. But in the madness of Aincrad it was far easier to cast the blame on others and outcast them.

Beta testers were treated awful by most regular players who were angry at their current lot in life. Often trying to fight them or chase the others out of town. There was now a class divide as most called it with players who supported the beta testers and those who didn't. And the ones who didn't were usually the louder of the two.

The black haired teen closed his menu while shrugging his shoulders. "Either way let's not worry about it. We got some time to kill so I'm gonna check in with Argo. You don't mind her coming to visit the inn real quick, do you?"

"You know I mind."

"Then I'm gonna do it. You two need to learn how to get along better." He felt the hard stare coming from his sister but chose to ignore it. "Now c'mon. We gotta get ready for the meeting while we're there."

The likelihood of the boss raid taking place on the same day as the meeting wasn't very likely. But it was better to be prepared for it just in case this Diavel was planning for a straight shoot to the boss. The better part of half an hour was spent adjusting equipment and item checking until a knock on the door broke them out of their planning.

"It's open!"

The door swung open quickly following his shout. Argo strolled on into the room belonging to the siblings and smiled at them. "Yo Ki-bou, Milkshakes. What's up?"

"Quit calling me that!" Leafa shouted red faced.

"Maybe cool it with the dairy products and I just might." The info broker chucked seeing the sister grind her teeth. Her enjoyment was cut off at Kirito flicking her on the head. "Oi!"

"Knock that off Argo. You know that upsets Leafa." He moved behind her to close the door and motioned for her to seat by the bed across from them. "Now, did you get that message earlier?"

The hooded girl nodded her head. Putting a hand under her chin in thought. "This Diavel has some guts making a mass message like that. But finding the first floor boss is bound to make others listen to what he has to say. By the way Ki-bou, you gonna take that offer my clients asked about?"

Shaking his head no, Kirito patted the handle of his sword. "Sorry, but I'm not selling it. Especially now that I've upgraded it at the blacksmith."

"Hmm, guess he's in for disappointment then. I'll let him know later."

"By the way Argo," The smaller girl perked her ears to Leafa. "Are you gonna be coming to this meeting? Being a beta player and all…"

No skipping a beat from the drag off, Argo shook her head. "Sorry there Jugs, but I ain't a fighter like you two. I'm more focused on spreading my info guide."

Leafa scoffed and turned her head around at the smaller girl. And to think she was going to be concerned for her well being. Kirito leaned in with a curious look. "How's that going by the way?"

"Eh, could be doing better. Most people thought I was just trying to push the free basics guide NPCs give you at the first town. I got a few buyers though, one big hulk of a man even grabbed like four of 'em."

"Big hulk?"

"Huge black guy with a goatee and an axe. Can't miss him." Argo said. "Bought a couple to educate some people. His words."

Kirito looked to his sister who merely shrugged herself. Perhaps he just arrived at the town. Either way it was of little importance to the two of them. After some more chatting and info bartering, Argo left the siblings of their devices until it was time for the meeting.

Upon arriving at the amphitheater in the town square, Kirito noticed a good turnout of many players chatting among themselves. The player who he deduced was Diavel stood in the middle of the stage looking around for any more arrivals. Both Kirito and Leafa took notice that Klein and his friends were nowhere to be seen, making them wonder if he was okay. The crowd's chatter and thoughts were silenced once the blue haired man at center stage clapped his armored hands loudly.

"Thank you everyone for showing up to this strategy meeting. I am Diavel and I guess the class you could say I rolled in is a Knight."

Almost immediately, most of the crowd burst into laughter at his statement. "Knight class? Dude there isn't a class system in SAO! What a joke!"

Other players all voiced in their agreement until Diavel coughed to get their attention. "Now seeing as you are all here, I can safely assume that you are all here to fight to boss to reach the next floor." He looked around seeing most people nod their heads. "Great. Our scouting party has finally located the dungeon where the floor boss is. Now the reason why I called you all here is to formulate a strategy to beat it. We need to show everyone hiding in fear that this game CAN be beaten, do you all not agree with me?" The murmurs in the crowd told Diavel that his words were having some impact. "Good, now for the nex-"

"HOLD ON!"

Everyone's attention was diverted to above the amphitheater where a spiky haired player began leaping down the seat rows. He made his way to center stage and stood in front of the large audience while rudely pointing to them. "Before we even start this meeting, there are some of us here that need to apologize!"

Diavel raised his eyebrows at the new arrival who so brazenly went out of his way to disrupt the meeting at hand. Although he had an idea what this was about. "I don't suppose you mean the beta testers, do you?"

"You're goddamned right I mean those bastards!" Kirito couldn't help but bristle at the way the mystery man was shouting as if he and the others were criminals. "When this whole mess started, everyone who was a beta tester hogged all the info! All the training spots, places to find better items and drops, ways to avoid the damned field bosses. But all they did was ditch us regular players with nothing! Thousands of us are dead because of them and they need to answer for it! Answer for it by giving up everything they own to the people who lost friends and family because of their selfishness! Who agrees with me!?"

Leafa couldn't believe all the people who started to mutter amongst themselves after hearing what this finger pointing idiot had to say. He was completely putting all issues onto the beta testers and making them out to be scapegoats for all issues. If her brother's scowl was anything to go by, it was only a matter of time before he would make a scene. She placed a comforting hand on the tightening ones on his lap which made him to in confusion to his sister. Her soft smile allowed the swordsman to breath out and compose himself.

"Now hold on just a minute."

The attention that was focused on either chatting or paying focus on the ranting spike haired player was changed to another player walking up to the stage. He was a tall and intimidating figure who was dark skinned, had a goatee and a cue ball bald head. One thing that both Kirito and Leafa noticed right away was the axe on his shoulder.

"The name's Agil. Kibao, right? You want the beta testers to apologize for all the rookie's deaths and to give up their loot to make amends, am I right?"

"You're damn right that's what we want!"

Agil reached into his pockets and brought out a small guide for everyone to see. "I'm assuming the lot of you got one of these at the shops around us, right?" He looked around to see almost half of the players, including Kibao, pull out the same guidebook. "You know who made that guidebook? Beta testers. They spread out all the information that they could so that other players could be safe. But not everyone read it and people died because of it. Kibao, I can understand that you're angry but we shouldn't be here to simply point fingers at others who may or may not even be here. I'm here so that we can finally get to clearing this game by being a part of this raid."

His words hung heavily in the air for everyone to take in. Kibao eventually got off the stage and sat down in the front row while Agil returned to his seat. Kirito was amazed at the man's boldness to stand up for the beta testers considering what kind of a hot button deal that was. All wandering thoughts however were stopped when Diavel clapped his hands to garner attention. He gave out the information that he received for the floor boss, Illfang, The Kobold Lord. Along with the sentries that protected their leader. His attack patterns were also written down in the guidebook so many players who lacked one were recommended to find and read up on one of them.

"Now before we adjourn for the night, I ask that everyone here find at least two or three players to form a party with. Figuring out the number of squads we have to work with will help up in the long run."

Players soon started to pair off with one another. Kirito and Leafa would rather stick by each other but having another hand to back them up would be nice. He thought of going to that Agil for a potential party member but he was already grouped with some other tank-like player. It was soon reaching to the end of pickings and neither sibling found someone to party up with. It wasn't until nearly everyone was grouped that Kirito saw someone.

A hooded player who sat by their lonesome, not moving an inch to find a party member. The older brother tugged at his sister's sleeve to bring her attention to the loner. They looked at each other for a moment before nodding their heads. "Hey there. Couldn't find anyone to party with?"

The player looked up to the raven haired boy which allowed him a look at their face. It was a girl with soft facial features with a glimpse of chestnut colored hair that was peaking through the edges of the hood. She momentarily looked to the swordsman and then to his sister and turned her head away again. "It's not that I couldn't find anyone. Everyone here already seemed to be friends with each other."

"So you're a solo player then?" The girl nodded her head slowly as if unsure about that classification. "I'm Kirito and this is Leafa, wanna party with us?"

Leafa stepped in front of the girl and offered a hand. "Better to team up with someone who can have your back then watching all sides in a boss raid."

The girl looked to the siblings once more. Softly nodding her head, she opened her menu and sent an invitation to them. The pair looked to their menu's to see the mystery girl's name.

Asuna.

"Well Asuna, glad to have you on board." Leafa said with a smile.

"I see that everyone has partied up. Now here's the plan."

The rest of the meeting was spent planning out attack formations. Squads of people who would keep the minions off the main assault party while the frontliners took the job of dispatching Illfang. Once everyone confirmed their rolls they were all sent off to rest up for tomorrow.

Kirito tapped his sister on the shoulder and softly nodded his head to Asuna. "Leafa, do me a favor and talk with her for a bit. I wanna talk to that Agil guy."

"What? For what reason do you have? You know how awkward things get without you around!" She heatedly whispered back. Asuna turned around to see the two of them bickering quietly to one another before Kirito ducked off away from a shove by Leafa. He apologized and promised to be back with food for the three of them.

"Am I going to get an explanation for that?" Leafa could only chuckle nervously to the fellow party member while Kirito ran off.

Thankfully for the teen, Agil didn't wander too far off after parting ways with his squad. He managed to catch up with the burly man and tap him on the shoulder. The man turned around to see Kirito looking up at him. "Can I help ya kid?"

"Just wanted to say thanks for what you said back there. Not many people are willing to take the risk of defending the beta testers like you did."

Agil blinked at the kid a few times before letting out a rough chuckle at his thanks. He gave the smaller player a friendly bump to his shoulder with his large hand. "With that I guess you're one of them? I don't see the point in playing the blame game when some couldn't be bothered be dig a little bit for answers."

"And the guidebook you got there was from a player named Argo, right?"

"You know her?"

"A friend back in the beta. Be careful with her, she has some sneaky tendencies."

The two exchanged a fistbump while laughing with each other. "I'll keep an eye out on her."

"Before I head back with my party, you mind adding on your friend list?"

Agil shrugged and brought up his menu to accept Kirito's request. He said his farewell for the night leaving the teen to scramble around to find some decent food to eat.

The thing about Aincrad was that the design and style of the game was very European looking and inspired. Many of the buildings, structures and even the food offered was based around that culture. So his usual Japanese staple snacks didn't exist here. Flavored bread was always an option but Leafa did have that conscience about watching her carbs.

But then again, eating here didn't really have any effect on their bodies. It was purely a craft for seeking a momentary pleasure in this terrible situation everyone found themselves in.

So bread it was.

After heading to the town's bakery for a few items Kirito used his friend tracker to find where Leafa was. Not that far off it seemed since she appeared to be located in the park next to Asuna. ' _I am not looking forward to going back to the inn tonight . She's gonna yell her lungs out once the doors are closed.'_ He found the two girls sitting down on a bench chatting with one another. It almost made him not want to jump in and interrupt the conversation. Leafa rarely conversed with anyone outside of him back at school but that mainly had to do with the rumors surrounding them. The girls at his school had some sort of hive minded mentality against those who were outside the 'in crowd' and she just so happened to be one of them. Her looks far outclassing the other girls made her an easy target.

It was nice that it looked to be that she might have found someone to talk to other than him. Which would hopefully help distract her attention away from the constant smothering behavior not seen since their mother. "Hey girls, I'm back!"

Leafa turned away from her pleasant conversation to give her brother a cross look. "Took you long enough! How rude can you be leaving the two of us like that!?"

He expected this from her to say the least. But he certainly wasn't expecting Asuna to nod her head as well. "It was quite backhanded to ditch us like that."

"Alright I don't need this especially after bringing food for you both." Kirito emphasized his statement by bringing up his equipped item of the bread bag for them to see. Leafa scrunched her nose a bit seeing the bag was from a bakery but Asuna looked surprised at the bag. "Hope you like artisan style bread."

"Kirito, you know I'm watching my diet!"

"In a game where your physical body won't be affected no matter how much you eat?"

The younger girl opened her mouth to protest but shut it quick after thinking about how silly she would sound out loud. Leafa decided it was best just to snatch a loaf and ignore her brother while eating it.

Kirito chuckled a bit seeing the puffed cheeks he was used to whenever he poked his sister slightly. A good sign for her to be full of emotions and not be concerned all the time. Asuna reached into the bag and pulled out a loaf herself, leaving the only male to grab the last bread and toss the empty bag on the ground. The three of them watched the bag turn into a tiny burst of fragments as it hit the ground and scattered to the wind.

"Hey, before you guys eat it have some of this stuff." Both girls looked to see Kirito bring our a jar of white cream and spread it on his bread.

Both girls got their share of the stuff before it ran out which made the boy toss the item. Once again shattering into tiny fragments. Asuna gave a perplexed look to her bread as she turned it around to view it from every angle. "Is this cream or butter?"

"It's cream. Got it as a reward from "The Cow Strikes Back" quest I did a while back." The suspicious look from Leafa promised that an explanation would be had by the end of the night. Though for now both siblings laughed once they focused in on Asuna devouring the cream covered bread with a delightful smile on her face.

The first time she smiled since meeting her earlier in the day.

"You know I can tell you where to do that quest so you can have more." Kirito offered.

The chestnut haired girl shook her head at the friendly statement and got up from her seat. "I appreciate the offer but no thanks. Eating good isn't why I'm here."

Leafa tilted her head at the shift in Asuna's face after standing up. "Then you're here to fight in more boss raids after this?"

A nod was her answer before turning around to face the siblings. "After spending a month in this nightmare situation we find ourselves in, I almost went crazy from all the fear. The uncertainty of death looming over my shoulder if I dared to step out of the safety of town. I don't want that to be me, someone who rots away at the Town of Beginnings. To not lose sight of who I am and fight with my every being to get out is what I want more than anything. I would rather die trying to move forward than let this game beat me down."

Both siblings looked to each other with looks of surprise from Leafa and a fascinating look from Kirito. This girl they just met decided to be one of the thousand or so brave souls to try clearing the game. So bold as to show up to a raid meeting to tackle one of the most dangerous enemies they will have encountered up to this point. The confident looking girl jumped a bit when Kirito bumped his fist on her back.

"Well I don't think it would sit right with Leafa or me if you went and died after delivering that cool speech. So watch our backs and we'll watch yours, okay?"

His grin nearly felt infectious to Asuna. Her cheeks went upwards a soft amount, a detail that didn't go unnoticed by the two which made Leafa come in and offer a hand to the fellow female. "This blockhead might have terrible people skills but in a fight is where you can rely on him the most." Both girls chuckled a bit seeing the look he was giving his sister. "But you can count on us."

"Thank you both. See you at the boss meeting."

All three of them waved goodnight to each other before heading to their places of rest for the night. And much to his dismay, Kirito had to deal with his sister chewing him out for not only ditching her to talk with a stranger but for going off on a quest by his lonesome. He could understand that she was concerned, he truly could and he would be the same if Leafa was being reckless. But could she not do this sort of thing in public for every player in the whole town to see? At this rate the emasculation would prove to be too much before they reached floor 2 and any reputation he might have would be nulled going forward.

The last thing he's want to be remembered as is that guy who got yelled at by some girl in public places all the time.

* * *

Chattering and mutterings of excitement and slight apprehension was abound in the room connected to where the boss waited. The large double doors standing ominously over all the players who glanced at it. Groups of players paired up both on their way to the boss room and just as they reached it. Often having last minute powwows to remember the strategy that Diavel set in place for them all to win this fight.

"Alright, so the three of us are tasked with keeping the sentry Kobolds off of the main assault squad while they deal with the boss." Kirito started. "Our position is to the left side of the corridor while the other defenders handle the right side."

Asuna nodded her head, absorbing the information in while Leafa was left a bit disgruntled at being placed in the back. Both she and her brother were a good level or two above most of the players fighting in so it would make much more sense to have them at the front to fight the boss. But Diavel was insistent that the three of them keep to handling the mobs. "So what's the game plan then Kirito?"

"We form a switch chain to deal with the enemies while making sure not to get hit. Either me or Leafa will go in and parry a strike from the sentries and then Asuna will come in and start the switch chain for us to follow."

"Switch chain? What's that?"

Leafa gave her brother a raised eyebrow to which he simply shrugged at. "Asuna be real with us. Is this the first combat MMO you've played?"

"If I'm being perfectly honest, it's my first game period. Was never really much of a gamer until recently."

The black haired boy gave a scratch to his chin in thought. Asuna's level was at 6 so she had to be capable to a degree but not knowing one of the safest ways to attack an enemy made things a bit more difficult. He gave the hooded girl a small tap on the shoulder and motioned between him and Leafa. "Don't worry we're gonna show you how it works. Just stick behind us until you get the idea behind it."

All attention was then focused on Diavel who brought his sword down to the stone floor. The clanging noise grabbing everyone's attention in the room. "Everyone, listen up! I just wanted to say this before we enter this fight. We are going to win and be one step closer towards freedom! Let's go!"

Numerous players all cheered and roared with approval at his words. Leafa being one of the few who didn't and rather rolled her eyes at the hype man act. This was a make or break situation to decide the fate of thousands of players, not some mob hunting squad that needed to be gassed up on their own fumes.

Regardless of what she had to think of Diavel, he shoved the doors open to the boss room, allowing him and the others to charge into the large corridor. All at once the torches on the walls began to light up and made the room shine in a myriad of rainbow colors that peaked through the glass stained walls. Pillars of ivory held up the ceiling above them in the long stretch of the room. From the shadows behind those pillars came the Kobold Sentries that wielded maces. A piece of info from the guidebook that remained true. And from the back of the room laid the large boss himself.

The beast stood tall at around two meters with a large snarling snout and bloodthirsty red eyes to accompany his copper red fur and pants. In his right hand the beast held a bone axe and on his left a buckler. The boss let out a huge roar as four HP bars spawned near his head and his guards began charging. His name appearing right next to the bars.

Illfang, the Kobold Lord.

* * *

 **A/N: Cliffhanger you say? Maybe but I do want to have a more action focused chapter instead of trying to cram it all into one chapter and delaying the upload further. I want to keep my updates frequent yet of a good length of 4-6k words. Thanks for checking out the chapter and be sure to come back next time for the first floor boss fight!**

 **Have a good one everybody!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sibling Steel Chapter 4**

 **A/N: Boy, it's been a while hasn't it guys and gals? But we're back for another chapter with one of the most famous boss fights in the series. (And the spawn of numerous lookalike bosses in Memory Defrag but that's besides the point) Illfang, the Kobold Lord. Seriously, look at the boss history of this guy in that game and take a shot every time you see him. You'll be hammered for weeks. Anyways, that tangent aside. It's time for what you guys have been waiting quite some time for and I don't plan on making you all wait any longer. Enjoy it!**

* * *

Illfang let out his primal roar that echoed throughout the boss room as his charge came forward. His sentires running out in front of him to attack the intruders of their lord's domain. Diavel raised his sword and shield, ready to start the raid and brought the blade forward. "Everyone, commence the attack!"

Yells broke out of the silence from the players who heeded the raid leader's call and ran to meet the foe head on. Kibao and his squad led the charge on the frontlines to handle the front forces that blocked the way to Illfang. The Ruin Sentries were powerful enemies, being as high as level 7 and had very high HP. Most of the tanks and heavy weapons players were doing their best to keep the damage constant. Diavel kept shouting orders to the party as the battle raged on. Making sure the momentum was kept as they kept backing up the Kobolds with their numbers.

The blue knight's words rang clear to Kirito's party of three. "Squads D, E and F! Keep those minions off of us!"

"You got it!" Kirito shouted back.

The sentry in front of him leapt forward with its mace held overhead to crush the player's skull. Seeing the motion coming, he brought up his sword and struck the weapon away making the monster lose its balance. "Leafa, switch!"

"I'm on it!" Leafa's sword began to glow a bright green color as she unleashed the sword skill Vertical. The blow cut through the monster with great force, a solid chunk of HP torn clean off from it. The black haired girl kept her eyes trained in on the monster who regained its footing and ran forward with its mace to its left side for a heavy swing. Like her brother before her, Leafa batted the strike away with her own strike and backed up for the next member of their squad.

Asuna rushed forward, taking in what she saw before her and battered the Kobold hard with Linear. The four strike combo tore through the sentry and reduced its HP to zero, making the foe explode into a massive array of pixels.

Leafa gave a thumbs up of approval to her fellow party member who gave a curt nod as the onslaught continued. Kirito felt a smirk of his own creep up on him unbidden seeing Asuna's skills in action. He couldn't even see the tip of her rapier with how fast she was moving. Like a flash, it was there and gone in a second. The cry of another Kobold spawning broke him from his thoughts and made him go on the offensive. Parrying the attack, the swordsman unleashed a Vertical of his own which made quick work of the attacker.

Seeing her brother go in on these Kobolds made her shake her head in slight nostalgia. In every game they played, he was always the one to get into fighting mobs the most. The grind of the game truly making him play his hardest. "What a showoff."

"Girl, watch your six!"

Leafa turned around just in time to backstep away from a mace strike from another mob that spawned behind her and slashed it in the face. From behind her, the large bear of a man Agil came in and finished the beast off with a cleave from his massive axe. "You gotta be more careful little lady! Mistakes like that can cost more than you can afford!"

"R-Right! Thanks for the help!" Scolding aside, she was grateful to the man for his help.

"Just doing a tank's job, now go and rejoin your squad."

The overwhelming assault continued unabated by the raid party. Ripping through the minions and Illfang's health with their sheer numbers and pressure. After dispatching what seemed to be the last one of the sentries, Kirito and his squad looked over to the main assault team who seemed to have backed Illfang into a corner. Nearly all four HP bars were drained and the beast was bordering on its last legs. The boss let out a furious cry, throwing both its axe and buckler aside, leaving only the weapon on its back to defend itself.

Kibao smiled cockily at seeing the boss get desperate. "Looks like the guidebook was right after all. Let's mow this dog down!" Everyone began to start moving into position for the final attack. With Illfang surrounded, there was no way he could escape all the strikes coming his way.

"Stand back!"

As Illfang continued to snarl and bark at the players, Diavel rushed to the vanguard with his weapon raised and ready to strike. "I'll take it from here! All others fall back and regroup!"

This got Kirito's attention right away, giving a concerned look to both Leafa and Asuna. Before they had entered the room, it was agreed upon that once the boss was at red HP that they would all gather together to wipe it out. With the minions taken out, his squad moved in next to the others just in time to see Diavel's sword glowing with a yellow light while Illfang reached for the weapon on his back. Once unsheathed, the black haired teen felt his blood run cold.

The weapon Illfang drew wasn't the one from the beta! When he was play testing the game, the boss had grabbed a talwar from his back after being brought to the brink. But the sword that was drawn wasn't that but a larger black blade that had a V-shaped hooked end. Ignoring the call of confusion from his sister, he rushed past the others and yelled at the raid leader. "Stop! That isn't a talwar, it's a nodachi! Get out of there, you're gonna get killed!"

If Diavel heard Kirito's warning, it was ignored under his battle cry against Illfang. The red beast snarled wickedly at the player who came at him alone and jumped back into a pillar. He jumped in every direction too quick for the blue knight to follow. His confused motions let the boss know that his foe wasn't expecting such speed from such a large foe. A flash of purple caught Diavel's eyes as Illfang's nodachi lit up with a sword skill of his own. He brought down the sword through the leader's chest causing him to cry out in searing pain. The Lord of the Kobolds quickly slid himself behind the falling player and rammed his sword clean through his back, sending the player like a ragdoll over the raid party.

"Diavel!" Kibao's cry of concern was overshadowed by the boss jumping in front of the squads, letting out a huge bellow that shook the very ground.

Kirito rushed to the fallen leader and brought out a healing potion from his inventory. His HP bar was falling fast into the red and approaching zero. He had to be quick with it. "Why did you change the plan!? That was reckless beyond belief!" Through he tried using the potion on Diavel, he pushed the item away making the teen look at him with mass confusion.

"You were… a beta tester, weren't you?" He weakly managed to get out. "You knew… about the weapon being different from the beta."

It finally hit Kirito as to why Diavel would throw the plan away in favor of him leading the charge. It wasn't out of any protective measure for the party, it was for… "You were after the rare item from the Last Attack bonus. Only beta testers know about that from boss battles."

A defeated smile slowly formed around his face. The only other beta tester here figured him out moments before his death. The only one here with any knowledge about how Illfang fought and what he did other than someone else.

* * *

" _So he refused my offer, huh?" Diavel mused with a sigh. "That's gonna make things more difficult…"_

 _Argo rolled her eyes at the fellow beta tester. She had seen greed before in other MMOs she played but it seemed SAO brought out another side in people. Even now with the death game being very much a real thing. "You can't expect the guy to get rid of his best weapon for some money he could farm in a week. Plus it was a quest exclusive item. All the more reason to keep it."_

" _You sound like you're defending him."_

" _He's a client just as much as you are. I have to understand both parties going into this if I'm gonna play silent messenger." The blonde answered in neutrality. "I don't play favorites here."_

" _Either way, this makes my chances of getting the Last Attack slightly harder. But perhaps if I keep him on minion detail, he won't charge in to kill the boss."_

 _These tactics were rather underhanded for someone with the goal of being a raid party leader. They were also utterly selfish in every way. Argo thought the whole point of this raid was to get them closer to freedom, not to hog the glorious Last Attack bonus from another beta tester. "And what will happen if you get yourself killed trying to get that rare item? There aren't a lot of beta testers so willing to help out regular players with all the hate going around."_

 _Diavel hated to admit the truth behind Argo's words. That this line of strategy for a rare item could very well cost him his life by not working together with another beta tester. But his desire of prominence trumped the need to work together with someone so skillful in the beta. "Then it'll all fall on Kirito's hands."_

" _To lead the party?"_

" _No. To be its scapegoat."_

* * *

' _In the end, it looks like Argo got the last laugh.'_ Diavel thought with self loathing indignation. His greed proved to be his undoing at the hands of the first floor boss whose new attack pattern left him dying. Finally managing to push the healing item away from Kirito, he looked in his eyes with a pleading look. "Please… Defeat the boss…" In his last moments, a determined look fell on his face. "Do it for… everyone."

With his final words, Diavel's HP bar landed at zero. He shattered into a mass of glowing pixels before the beta tester.

Everyone looked to Kirito's direction, staring at the dumbstruck player as their leader perished in front of him. The healing potion fell from the beta tester's grip, clattering to the floor with an echo that could be heard across the room. But Illfang wouldn't allow such distractions in his domain and yelled loudly, making the players scramble around in fear.

When this game began, all Kirito could think about was ensuring his own survival along with Leafa. Klein and his friends wasn't a concern for him, he hardly even knew anything about them. And even if the clawing feeling of guilt made its way back into his mind every now and again, he never looked back. But Diavel despite being a beta tester and knowing the dangers of Aincrad, managed to unite the players to fight in this raid to get them closer to freedom. He did what Kirito couldn't and became a leader for the players to follow. And now that leader was gone.

Illfang's loudest roar yet made the player become stunned in fear of their lives. But that yell allowed Kirito to steel his resolve for what had to happen next. The shuffling of feet next to him made the player look to his side, seeing both Leafa and Asuna standing next to him looking just as determined.

"I'll go with you." Asuna started, drawing her rapier to show she wasn't all talk.

The flash from Leafa's sword also showed she was serious. "Let's take this bastard down."

With his squad to back him up, a spark ignited inside of Kirito's stomach. He and his two partners ran forward with weapons ready to end Illfang once and for all. "Use the same strategy that we used to kill the sentires."

"You got it!"

"Understood!"

The trio rushed past the frightened players which caught the boss's attention. Focusing on the newcomers, the beast held his sword back and lit the blade with a brilliant white light. Kirito roared with his charge to meet the sword skill head on with his own. His powerful swing managed to knock Illfang off balance hard, leaving his body wide open for an attack. "Switch!"

Asuna lunged herself like a bullet train at the boss with her rapier glowing. She stepped firmly forward to deliver a strike to the stomach but her partner's voice gave clear warning to the boss's action. Almost instantly, Illfang recovered and brought his nodachi down on Asuna but her speed proved to be a boon. The blade missed, instead ripping through the cloak that hid her face allowing her to be shown in full. Kirito was struck but not only Asuna's beauty with her pristine face and long chestnut hair but her strength in quickly lighting up a sword skill and knocking the boss far back.

But his daze didn't last long with the snarling of Illfang bringing him back to the matter at hand. Asuna rushed in for a parry of her own and swapped with Leafa who dragged her blade along the exposed gut. When the boss recovered yet again he could hardly get a slash in with the black haired girl batting away the strike which let her brother come in for a blow. But his attack was cut short from Illfang flipping the grip of his nodachi and slashing Kirito back into Asuna. The teen cursed himself for getting too far ahead of the plan as he struggled to get up along with Asuna. The boss attempted to finish off the pair but a hard knockback threw him backwards, skidding across the room.

Kirito looked to see the other players charging ahead with Agil, who still had his axe held high from his parry. The large man looked back to the two of them with a confident look of his own. "We'll hold him off until you recover! Girl, let's give them some cover."

Leafa nodded her head, running along with Agil to defend her brother and partner. The horde of players began to surround Illfang as they had originally intended. Making the boss growl from being hit and poked from all directions. With a massive roar and flourish of the blade, he knocked the players on their rears. With them left defenseless, the boss jumped into the air with his sword glowing a bright purple color.

Kirito felt a rush of adrenaline burst in his veins seeing the monster train in on Agil and Leafa who were lying right in the path of Illfang's strike. "No you don't, you bastard!" A striking blue color erupted from his sword. Jumping into the air, his yell of anger was second only to the sound of a clean strike tearing through the boss's body as he intercepted the falling attack. Illfang fell hard on the ground from the interception, almost defenseless just as Kirito landed on the ground a began running again. "Asuna! Let's take him out with one last attack!"

"Roger!" Having fully recovered from her knock down, Asuna ran to catch up with her partner and began their furious assault.

There was no way the boss could keep up with the powerful strikes coming from the two players. He was knocked around as Kirito and Asuna kept on parrying every single attempt of an attack and tagged in unison to batter the last of his HP away. With one final scream breaking through the clashing of metal, Kirito ripped his glowing sword through Illfang's stomach with the sword skill Uppercut.

The boss who had troubled and battered the players around for so long was send into the air with the final cut Kirito gave him glowing a shining white light. One last piteous roar came from the monster's muzzle as a death knell before his timely shattering.

Silence overtook the raid party once the boss shattered away into nothingness. It wasn't until one player shouted in victory did the others cheer in joy as well. A huge virtual banner saying; _**CONGRATULATIONS**_ hovered overhead of the entire party as various members began glowing to signify their leveling up. Their menus opened up showing what all kinds of rewards and loot they earned through the insane boss battle.

After Kirito finally fell from his battle high, he saw his own rewards staring him in the face along with an additional two lines of text.

 **-You got the last attacking bonus award!-**

 **-Last Attack Bonus Reward: Coat of Midnight-**

' _So Last Attack bonuses still exist in the game after all.'_ At least that comfort still existed from the beta. Kirito closed his menu with a worrying thought brewing in his mind. ' _Illfang's attack pattern changed dramatically from the beta. Not only with a new weapon but a new fighting style to accompany it. Is all the knowledge gained from the beta worthless now or is it only partially useful as it would've been? Argo is gonna be tearing her hair out over this, I can already tell.'_

"Kirito?" A tap on his shoulder released him from his train of thought. Turning around, Asuna looked at him with a soft smile and a thumbs up to her partner. "Nice job!"

"That was some fine swordsmanship." Both looked to see Agil and Leafa walk up to them. The approaching with a smirk of satisfaction on him. "Today's victory is thanks to you."

"That finish was insane! The way you ripped through that thing was amazing!" Kirito had the grace to blush in embarrassment from his sister's praise

He tried to downplay his efforts but the crowd of players were having none of it. All of them clapped and cheered for the player who took down the first floor boss of Sword Art Online. It was a tremendous occasion to be sure with freedom from the death game one step of the way there. It conflicted Kirito on many levels. The praise felt nice, sure but it came at what cost? Diavel's request was granted, the boss was dead and everyone was safe but could he really fill those large shoes?

"Stop cheering!"

It seems fate had an answer right away for him.

Kibao stood up in front of everyone, fists shaking in rage and his body trembling. "Why…? Why did you let Diavel die!?"

"Let him die?"

"That's what I said! I don't get it… You knew what technique the boss was gonna use!" The hardness of the glare being cast at the teen almost made him step back. "You could've told us what the boss was gonna do, then Diavel would still be here! He wouldn't have had to die!"

Quiet murmurs were beginning to sprout up one by one around them. Leafa bit her lip in trepidation with the tension that was building up. Of all people to spot such a detail, it had to be the beta tester hater. All the words Agil put in before this boss raid was doing nothing for these people but fueling the fire that would overburn the situation.

One player pointed his finger at the swordsman and called out to the crowd. "I know why he knew! He's one of the beta testers! He knew the boss's attack patterns and kept that info from us!" A casting look of suspicion was tossed around to the surrounding players. "And I bet he isn't the only beta tester here! Show yourself you cowards! Take responsibility for Diavel's death!"

The murmurs and whispers only began to grow louder at this accusation. With all the players shift looking each other, it was only a matter of time before fists would start flying over the vindication of a dead man. Kirito looked to the three players in front of him who weren't buying into this blatant witch hunt. Asuna, Agil and Leafa were exchanging looks of concern and worry. They knew where this was heading too and moved to try their best to diffuse the situation. But Kirito knew the mentality of these kinds of people and that they wouldn't be calmed unless someone was made to answer for this.

' _Sugu, I'm sorry for this. But it has to be done.'_

While the others kept trying to calm the others down, a laughter echoed in the chamber. Growing louder and louder as Kirito put a hand on his head and shook it back and forth. "So you all think I'm a beta tester, huh? That's one hell of a spot to put me in but please don't insult me." Kibao scowled at the conceited grin adorning Kirito's face. "I'm way past the level of those noobs."

"What did you say!?"

"Are you deaf? Most of the 1,000 lucky few who were beta testers were a bunch of noobs who didn't even know how to level up. That's how pathetic they were." He walked right past his accusers and gave smug looks to the lot of them. "Because of that, I can say for certain that you guys are all better players than they ever were. But to call me one of them? What an insult." Moving past his sister, Agil and Asuna, a frown came to settle itself on his face. "I'm nothing like those losers. I made it higher than any beta tester during that time. Illfang is a complete joke of a boss compared to the monsters on higher floors. Ones that have way more sword skills and way more frightening patterns than him."

Finally facing the whole crowd with the stairway to the next floor behind him, Kirito's look of contemptible smugness was on full display for everyone there. "I know so much more than any info broker or beta tester in this whole game. And that's a fact."

"If that's true… Then you're even worse than any beta tester!" Kibao barked at him. "You're a filthy cheater, that's what you are!"

A cavalcade of insults began hurling themselves in Kirito's direction. All sorts of nasty insults that only the lowest of the low would use on another. Yet despite all this overflowing hate, Kirito took it all with a smile. Until one word caught his attention above the din of noise.

"You're a beta tester cheater! You're a damn beater is what you are!"

"Beater, huh?" His irritating chuckling made the crowd want to charge at him. "Yeah, I like that. I like it a lot." Gasps came from the crowd. He was wearing that name like it was some sort of prize. "So call me a Beater then. Just don't confuse someone like me with those loser beta testers."

He clicked through his menu until he found the item that Diavel was willing to die for. The Coat of Midnight, the Last Attack bonus from Illfang, the Kobold Lord. With a final click, the coat appeared on his body with a flourish. He spared one final look of self satisfaction before beginning his ascent up the stairs to the next floor.

Everyone was stunned into silence from his speech with only the clacking of Kirito's shoes to fill the air around them. That is until Leafa began running after him with stomps of rage guiding her step. "And where the hell do you think you're going!"

This made Kirito stop mid-step. ' _I knew this was coming. But I better rip this band aid off quick. You'll thank me later Sugu when you're alive and well back with mom.'_ He turned around to his sister and rolled his eyes at her. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm gonna use all my knowledge to clear the way for these ingrates. That includes you."

Leafa looked as though she just got shot through the chest with that flippant remark. It almost made Kirito's guise crumble, seeing his beloved sister look so hurt. But he knew it had to be done to keep her safe. "I don't need an extra burden attaching itself to my hip like a lost puppy. I'm more than enough to take on anything this game has for me. I don't need you to slow me down."

There were no words to accompany Leafa's fall to her knees, only the tears burning at her eyes from the cruel words of her brother. Yet another stab of guilt almost made Kirito spill the beans right in front of all the other players, who were all but screaming at his treatment of the girl. But he bottled up the emotions in time to keep moving up the stairs. He finally made it up the stairs and to the door the would lead to the next floor. Just as he was about to push the door open, a new voice stopped his hand.

"That was unnecessary and cruel. Don't you care about her?"

Kirito turned around to see Asuna giving him a harsh look for his actions back at the bottom of the stairwell. It made sense that she would call him out on this, considering the three of them were in the same squad. "What's it to you, Asuna? It's not like she's your bestie or anything like that."

"Just because she isn't my best friend doesn't mean you get to randomly treat her like dirt for no reason. Especially after how close the two of you acted the night before. Just what's your gambit here, what do you gain from this?"

"Nothing that's your business, that's for sure."

Asuna's hard look only increased at the dismissive nature of his actions. But in the end she just sighed. "Well I guess that's it then."

"Listen Asuna… You're really strong. If anyone asks you to join a guild, don't turn them down. Accept it and become stronger to clear this game. Also…" He spared one last look to the girl. "Do me a favor and keep Leafa safe. She's gonna need to get stronger and you're the person to do it."

"You're really in no position to be asking favors, Kirito. But… I suppose I'll check on her now." She turned around to move down the stairs but gave a last look of her own. "Don't be reckless yourself."

"Like I would." With a few clicks from his menu, a message appeared in front of Asuna.

 **-Kirito has left the party-**

By the time she had turned around to look at him, he was already through the door to the next floor. Asuna sighed at his last stunt before descending down the stairs back to where the others were. Agil was currently trying his best to console the crying Leafa, a sight that made the chestnut haired girl feel sad at.

"H-How…? Wh-Why would he say th-those horrible things?" The crying girl managed to say under the constant cries coming from her throat.

Agil looked to Asuna for something to say or do in this situation. The girl couldn't offer much for the man but she did motion for him to move aside. He gave the crying girl one last pat on the back before letting Asuna tag in. "Leafa, are you okay?" Clearly not the right question to ask with an answer so obvious. But she had to say something to get the girl to talk.

Luckily for Asuna, she didn't have to deal with any of the sass that Kirito gave her earlier. Just the sounds of calming cries and sniffling. Leafa managed to stop her sorrow for long enough to look up at her partner. "A-Asuna… I just feel terrible…"

"He really hurt you, didn't he." The rapier user shook her head at the situation she found herself in due to that jerk's callousness. With the black haired girl nodded her head silently, Asuna gave a look to the stairs. "Well maybe you should go up there and give him a piece of your mind."

"B-But he said-!"

"You're really gonna let what he said get in the way of what you want? Who cares about the smoke he's blowing from his mouth? You should make sure that nothing is left unsaid between you two if he really plans on leaving you behind." She helped her partner onto her feet and gave a soft pat to her shoulder. "Go. He couldn't have gotten far yet."

It took a few seconds of thought for Leafa to come to a decision. But seeing her wipe her face of the tears staining her cheeks made Asuna glad to see she made up her mind. Without a word, the black haired girl charged up the stairs after the self proclaimed 'Beater'. And boy did she have some words for him.

The two players who remained standing near the stairs watched the girl run up those stairs with a vengeance until only the echoes of her steps could be heard. Agil wished Asuna good luck as he went to the remaining crowd to help the movement process to the next floor for the players who didn't participate in the raid. Asuna was left alone to her thoughts until a pop up message caught her by surprise. A system notification that told the girl everything she wanted to hear.

 **-Leafa has entered a new floor. The party has been disbanded-**

"Good luck Leafa."

* * *

The creaking of the stone door opening at the end of a nearly endless flight of stairs made way for the sight of the second floor of Aincrad. The vast area around the exit was that of a savannah, not unlike floor one. But feeling more prairie-like with the soft green on the grass accompanied by the table topped mountains in the distance. But Kirito knew that this place was not as peaceful as it seemed. The monsters here would no doubt be tougher than what he's faced so far.

' _Only one kilometer to reach Urbus, the main hub of the second floor.'_ The path was a lone beaten trail that lead straight forward to the town's gate. The chances of monster encounters along the way should be low to none but he knew to keep his guard up. This game was life or death now. Cruel and unfair like so many other difficult games of the past. It was for the best that he kept his guard up at all times. ' _Just gotta activate the Teleport Gate so the others on the first floor can start moving up and setting up base.'_

He had no sense of urgency to run straight to the gate. With him all but placing a target on his back, Kirito certainly didn't mind taking his time to walk into the safety of town. Even if some mobs spawned, he had already recovered himself to full HP once the boss raid ended.

It wasn't until about halfway to town did loud steps catch his attention. He drew his sword and glanced quickly in his surroundings, ready to take a swing if any monster charged at him. But as the quick stomping came closer it was already too late for him to realize the steps were coming from behind him. Turning around to face the unknown threat also proved to be an utterly foolish mistake.

The sight of his sister coming in like a bat out of hell right at him with her fist held back was enough to make the mighty 'Beater' cry out in fear. He knew that punch in the face was well deserved and then some with what he pulled. But damn it all if that didn't hurt like a mother. With a noticeable mark on his face, Kirito tried to get up to face Leafa but she jumped on him and began beating her fists on him.

' _Yep, I deserve this.'_ Was Kirito's lone thought while trying to block the bombardment of punches raining down on him.

"You stupid, asinine, moronic, idiot, selfish, egocentric JERK!" All of those insults hit harder than anything her fists could do. "What the actual hell were you thinking in saying all that crap to them!? How could you say that stuff to me!? Do you have any idea how much that hurt me to hear my brother call me a burden!?"

"Ouch! L-Leafa just- Ah! S-Stop it so I can-! Oof! Ex-Explain myself" His appeal was only met with the hits slowing down but exchanged for slaps instead of punches. His cries of pain only ended when his sister finally ran out of steam. Even then, she still wouldn't remove herself from him so he had to deal with her weight pressing down on his stomach.

Her tear stained face glared down at her older brother, telling him there was no way he was out of the woods yet. "You have one minute before I start punching again."

Time was of the essence it seemed. "You saw what was happening, Leafa. Everyone was getting ready to tear each other apart because I was outed as a beta tester. It was the only way to guarantee that a witch hunt wasn't made of the other beta testers. So I decided to throw it all on me so the others wouldn't have to deal with that."

"Then what about me!? Why did you say all those horrible things to me!" The feeling of wet droplets pelted Kirito's face. His sister was crying again and he was the cause of it. "We've had each other's backs for so long. Why is now any different!?"

"Because I didn't want you to get dragged along into my decision, Sugu!" The use of her real name allowed Kirito a brief chance to move the surprised girl off of him. Allowing the both of them to sit on the dirt ridden road to Urbus. "I made that move to be a target for hatred. For both the normal and beta testers. You shouldn't have to suffer for my moves so I tried to push you away so you could be safer."

A harsh smack resounded in the barren plains of floor 2. The older brother found himself nursing a stinging cheek while the younger sister still had her hand raised. "You idiot! You always do this stuff every time we do something together! Always trying to take the burden away from me and onto yourself! What happened to always having each other's backs, to clearing this game together and making it back home!? Do you think I'm too weak to keep up!? Do you-"

Her words caught in her throat when Kirito moved in to embrace her. The raised hand lowered slowly until she returned the gesture, tears stinging at her eyes once more. "I'm sorry… You're right, I'm an idiot for thinking you wouldn't come after me. Sugu, you know things are only gonna get harder from here on out. I wanted to have the ease of heart to know that you were gonna be safe in the lower floors but I don't think you'll let me have that."

"Nope. I'd rather give you the ease of heart knowing that there's at least one person who has your back. No matter how stupid you are."

"Good to know. But hopefully you are aware that being with me means you're just as much a target for harassment as me, right?"

Leafa separate herself from the hug to wipe away the tears from her face. What came next surprised the black haired brother, a playful bump to the shoulder with her usual winning smile. "Well you know what they say. Every good villain needs a lackey, so that's what I'll be."

"Heh. Well then lackey Leafa, you certainly got your work cut out for you going forward."

"Hmm. In that case maybe I should be the villain and you should be the lackey. I do have much better acting skills than you, you know."

"As if! You saw my performance down there, everyone bought it up! Even you did, need I remind you?"

"And don't think I'm gonna forgive it anytime soon!"

The two siblings continued their playful bickering all the way until they got into town. Once the teleport gate was activated, they both bolted to the nearest inn to retire after the hard fought battle and emotional trials endured. As usual, Leafa moved herself into Kirito's bed for comfort which the older brother allowed without much fuss. Better to give her any moments of relief that he could rather than fight her on it. From here on out it was the two of them together, for better or worse.

No matter what this game would throw at them, the Kirigaya siblings bond would stand stronger than any steel.

* * *

 **A/N: Roll Credits! So once again, apologies for the month plus long wait for the newest chapter but I'm back and ready to go. Now that the siblings are on floor 2, new trials and challenges await them. Fans of Progressive should be excited for the next coming chapters as we are gonna explore the possibilities of Aincrad as much as we can. Hope you're all as excited to read it as I am excited to write it. Drop a review if you liked it and have a good one everybody!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Another chapter, another month long wait for you guys. I really gotta get better at updating this fic. Hopefully with my new work schedule along with my own personal hype man I can do that. But regardless of that, we now begin Floor 2 of Aincrad as the siblings make their way through new trials and bosses. For those of you who haven't read Progressive, you're in for a treat.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Parties of players were gathered in the fields of Floor 2. It had been a few days since the new floor had opened up after the harsh battle against the boss of Floor 1 and everyone was eager to make sure they didn't spend two months on this floor like the first one. But they had run into a large obstacle pretty early on.

The obstacle being a large field boss walking around the area below the cliff they were all gathered on.

The field boss in question was a large bull named The Bullbous Bow. In addition to the boss itself, swarms of bee monsters would spawn around it. It was a dangerous monster, one parties had initially tried to avoid after seeing its power firsthand. However, a problem arose when it was revealed that the way to the dungeon lying beyond wouldn't open up until the field boss was defeated. And the result was the raid party assembled to take it down.

Asuna looked down at the field boss from the cliff above. She had fought countless boars on Floor 1, but nothing as big as that, Still, she doubted they would have much trouble with this many players gathered.

"Yo." the voice of Kibao was heard as Asuna turned her head, seeing him walk up. "You join a party yet?"

"I'm solo." Asuna replied.

"You know, you can join up with us if you want." he said.

"I told you I'm solo."

"I'm afraid that won't work." another voice said as he walked up. This was a male named Lind with semi long hair, dyed blue using an item. "I cannot allow irregularities to throw off the order and discipline of the front line group."

Asuna and Kibao both looked at Lind with narrow eyes as if to say " _Really?"_. Lind had been second in command of the raid group during the fight against Illfang. After Diabel's unfortunate death, he had taken up command of the front line group. But there were times that he seemed too into his role.

Asuna rolled her eyes as she went back to looking down at the field boss. "Look I'll just stick to dealing with the wasps. I need to collect materials anyway."

"You know you don't owe anything to that beater and his friend. You can party up with other people."

Asuna knew the two players Kibao was referring to were Kirito and Leafa. After the incident at the end of the fight against Illfang, Kirito had practically turned into Aincrad's Most Wanted. And the fact that Leafa stuck with him didn't paint her in a good light either.

"If you really want me in a party that badly…" Asuna said as she got up from her sitting position and walked over to a bush. Kibao and Lind stared oddly as they wondered what she was doing until they watched her stomp into the bush. A yelp of pain was heard before Asuna dragged out Kirito from behind. "There. Found my party member."

"Ow… damn that hurt." Kirito groaned. "How'd you know I was there Asuna? I was using my hiding skill."

"Geez, you're as hopeless as ever." Leafa said as she hopped down from the tree she had been hiding in. "I told you hiding in the trees would be better."

Several glares came towards the way of Kirito and Leafa, as whispers of the Beater flowed around them as well as his sidekick. No one knew the real story of how Kirito and Leafa were actually related so most players pegged her as an opportunist that had joined him to have special access to information, putting plenty of hate and remorse on her as well. But true to her word that she gave her brother, Leafa acted just as indifferent to the hatred as he did. Choosing to play a heel role is something that she never really saw coming but it did guarantee that she could watch over her brother safely. Some players even confronted her on the streets asking why would she be with someone who treated her so horribly at the first floor boss room.

She would simply turn her nose and walk away in a confident strut/ She didn't need to give finger pointers the time of day

"Well then, I think a punishment for getting caught so easily is an order. He can stick with me and clear out wasps. It'll make sure he remembers to be more careful next time, don't you think so Leafa?"

"Sounds good to me." the black haired girl said with a smirk.

Kirito groaned as he listened to his sister and Asuna conspire against him. He appreciated the fact that Asuna was one of the few people that didn't hate him or Leafa for his status as a beater. But in some ways, she was even worse than those that discriminated against him.

"Now hold on." Lind said, raising an objection. "We can't just-"

"It'll be fine. I'll make sure he doesn't touch the cow." Asuna assured them. "As long as the main party can do its job that is."

Kibao and Lind scowled at Asuna while Leafa hid a small snicker at the hidden insult thrown at the two of them.

"Tch, just make sure you remember your role." Lind said as he turned and walked away with Kibao.

Kirito rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. Leafa and I were planning on just joining once the fighting started. We didn't want to deal with the big crowd and all. Sorry to get you involved."

"It's fine." Asuna said. "Actually I'm just using you as an excuse so they won't whine about me not being in a party. Just make sure I don't regret it."

"Well I could use some material farming anyway." Leafa said. "I could use some speed type metals for my sword. I like to keep it nice and light."

"I need the same thing for my rapier." Asuna said. "How about we split the metals we get between the three of us fifty fifty? Sound good?"

"Works for me." Leafa nodded.

"Hang on, but what does that leave me?" Kirito complained.

"You get to have the honor of fighting beside two lovely female swordswomen." Leafa said with a smirk. "Isn't that good enough?"

Kazuto looked at the slightly evil-looking grins Asuna and Leafa were giving him and sighed to himself. ' _It's official. These two only see me as a slave to do their bidding.'_

"Our average level is higher! It should be us!"

"No way! We should be the ones leading the group!"

The sudden shouts of argument caught Kirito, Leafa, and Asuna's attention as they all turned their heads to see Kibao and Lind arguing amongst each other.

"What are those idiots doing now?" Leafa sighed.

"They've been bickering recently as to who will take command of the front lines." Asuna explained. "They both have a pretty large following. Lind's group is apparently called the Holy Dragon Alliance, while Kibao's group is calling themselves the Aincrad Liberation Squad."

"But aren't guilds not even a thing yet?" Leafa asked.

Kirito nodded his head. "Yeah, you have to do a quest to be able to form a guild but that's not until the third floor."

"Apparently they're going to be using those names once they officially form their guilds." Asuna told them. "But frankly, I don't find either of their guilds suitable. Not if they're lead by them."

"Any possible guilds you see yet that do interest you?"

"Not really. Most of the players I know aren't anyone I care much about." Asuna said. "Although, if that Agil guy made one, I guess I might join his."

"Speaking of which, where is he anyway?" Leafa asked. "I don't see him."

"He said he ran into a bit of trouble and couldn't come." Asuna shrugged.

"Do we have any decent tanks in the group then?" Kirito asked. "We might need them for this fight."

"The only ones I see-" Asuna said as she pointed to a group of players. "-are them."

Kirito and Leafa both looked to where Asuna was pointing. It was a small party of players. However, they stood out from the others in the raid group with their high grade, expensive looking equipment. It was much fancier than anything the others had on, even Kirito and Leafa who were two of the highest level players in the game currently.

"Where have those guys been hiding out all this time?" Kirito asked. "That equipment must be boosting them a good three or four levels worth in stats."

Asuna shrugged. "I only started seeing them around the front lines a couple days ago. Their levels aren't anything special, but their weapons and armor are all top class, which more than makes up for it."

"Do they have some kind of funny name for their group too?" Leafa asked with a giggle.

To the black haired girl's surprise, Asuna actually had a response. Though it was somewhat corny to say. "It's… the Legend Braves. Their members are called Beowulf, Cuchulainn, and their leader was called Orlando I believe."

It took almost all of Kirito and Leafa's self control not to burst out laughing at the cheesey sounding name of not only the would-be guild, but also the names of the players in it.

One of the Legend Braves, Orlando if Asuna was correct, suddenly made an outburst. "Beautiful! That's five successful upgrades in a row! Much better than those NPC smiths." His comment caught the attention of several players who looked to where Orlando was standing. At his side was another player kneeling on the ground with a mat in front of him, most likely a player blacksmith. "What's your name, good fellow."

"N-Nezha." the player said, shaking Orlando's hand with a nervous chuckle. "Come back anytime."

The praise from Orlando seemed to catch the interest of a few other players. Several began running over to Nezha asking for upgrades.

"Geez, a few successful upgrades and the guy's a celebrity." Leafa said.

"Well it's true that players working as blacksmiths are currently rare." Kirito noted. "Plus the NPC smiths down at this level tend to fail about a third of the time for the higher level upgrades."

"Well he's certainly bound to catch lots of customers here." Asuna said. "Makes it worth the slight danger I suppose."

There was a little time spared for players to get their weapons upgraded by Nezha, anything to help increase their chances of success. But before long it was time for the fight to begin. All of the players stood at the ready. Kibao and Lind both gave the order to charge and the horde of players all leaped down and began taking on the boss and the wasps surrounding it.

* * *

Kirito stayed focused, cutting down Wind Wasps one after another. He would much rather be going up against The Bullbous Bow and getting a chance at that attracting Last Attack Bonus, but if he did that he'd have hell to pay later from the other players.

As he leaped away from the attack of a Wind Wasp, kirito found himself back to back with Leafa. The girl smirked, having just as easy a time with the low level monsters. "I've taken out 24 so far. What about you?"

"26." Kirito replied with a cocky grin. "You're getting sloppy Leafa."

"Well I've got 28 on my kill count." Asuna said as she suddenly appeared next to the siblings. "Seems both of you need to step up your game."

Kirito frowned at having fallen behind Asuna. Her rapier did a lot less damage than his sword, but she was making up for it with with pinpoint strikes to the wasps' weak points. He decided to take things to the next level as he rushed forward. Several slashes came from his sword in a fluent motion, shattering every Wind Wasp in his way.

Leafa couldn't stand being the last in this competition. She hurried and cut away more wasps with her sword, desperate to come out on top.

' _It's so weird.'_ Leafa thought to herself. ' _Here we are in this life or death fight, and yet we're managing to have fun. We can still smile as we fight. Perhaps that's because we're all gamers.'_

Suddenly Leafa found herself surrounded. Wind Waps were hovering around her from all directions, ready to attack.

Asuna's eyes widened. "Leafa!"

All of the wind wasps moved in on Leafa. Just as Asuna was about to rush in to help, her eyes widened in amazement as Leafa's blade glowed an emerald color. She spun around, creating a whirlwind-like slash that cut through each of the wasps around her. They all shattered into polygons, surrounding Leafa with their light. Asuna blinked in amazement.

Leafa smirked over to Asuna. "That puts me to 32. I think I'm ahead now."

Asuna was glad to see that Leafa was alright. She glanced over at Kirito, who was still cutting away at Wind Waps. ' _He wasn't even worried. Do they really have that much faith in each other?'_

As she was looking at Kirito, her eyes widened when she saw his fist suddenly become veiled in the same light of a sword skill. He swung his fist at the wasp in front of him, punching it and taking it out. ' _Just what was that? What kind of skills has he managed to obtain?'_

Deciding she couldn't fall behind, Asuna kept up her assault on the wasps. As Kirito was fighting, his eye caught sight of a bee flying near him. He prepared to attack, but he stared in confusion as the monster ignored him and everyone else. It flew past them and went towards the Bullbous Bow.

' _Don't tell me…'_

Without warning, the wasp thrusted its stinger right on the boss's back. The next second, the boss let out a loud cry as its skin turned red. It thrashed around, knocking aside all of the players near it.

"Asuna! Leafa!" Kirito called out. "Forget the wasps! We're going after the boss!"

"What?!" Leafa exclaimed. "Look Kirito I know you want that LA Bonus but-"

"Just hurry! The boss is going crazy!"

Leafa and Asuna took notice of The Bullbous Bow and its rampaging state. They both nodded their heads understandingly and went in with Kirito to help.

Over by the boss, Kibao and Lind both cowered in fear of the rampaging bull. Just as it was about to charge at them, Orlando and another member of his guild appeared with shields in hand.

"Hold fast men! We cannot yield just yet to this beast!" Orlando called out. He dug his feet in, desperate to hold back the powerful charge of The Bullbous Bow.

As the Legend Braves held the boss back, three quick figures moved in and started slashing at the boss's legs. Kirito, Asuna, and Leafa's combined attacks managed to weaken the boss by a bit.

"We'll take over! Hurry up and recover!" Kirito told them.

Orlando nodded his head. "Understood! Good luck young heroes."

Leafa rolled her eyes. "He really needs to cut out the whole role playing act."

"Focus on the boss for now, Leafa." Kirito reminded her. "If it's like the beta, the weak point should be the bulging part of its head."

Leafa widened her eyes as she looked up at it. The boss's head was up nearly five times their height. "We can't reach that high!"

"Anyone have any knife throwing skills?" Kirito asked. In response, both girls shook their head no. He let out a sigh. "Oh well, guess I'll just have to test out _that_."

Asuna narrowed her eyes at what Kirito was saying. She glanced at Leafa, who shrugged showing she had no clue either.

"Go for its legs, you two." Kirito told them. "We'll only get one shot at this so make it count."

Leafa and Asuna didn't know what Kirito had in mind but they decided to trust him. Both went to the left and right before speeding at the boss. They each slashed at its knee joints, causing the boss's health to plummet to its last few slivers.

"Time to end this." Kirito said. He bent his legs down before springing up with a massive jump.

Asuna and Leafa widened their eyes. "Are you crazy Kirito! You'll never make it!" Asuna exclaimed.

Her words were proven wrong however when Kirito thrusted his sword forward with a Vorpal Strike sword skill. The skill forced him further up, piercing right through the boss and its weak point. The boss let out a cry of pain before shattering apart.

Everyone gasped as Kirito stuck the landing and showed Asuna and Leafa a cocky smirk. "Mid air sword skill. Not bad, huh?" Not minding the looks of contempt he was getting, the boy opened his menu to look at what reward he got for the last attack bonus.

That show of cockiness came at a price once Kirito felt the weight of his sword ripped away from his hands. One of the remaining wasp mobs quickly came in and thrusted its stinger against the blade of the sword, causing it to spin near a cliffside. While the swordsman took a moment to process this, Asuna used her speed to try and grab the sword as it bounced near the edge. Leafa took it upon herself to rush in and slash the wasp in half for the surprise attack it launched at her brother. While the black haired girl proved successful in her task, Asuna slid her body like a professional baseball player just as the sword fell down the cliffside into the abyss of the world below. She looked over the edge in disbelief as the object faded into the clouds below before slumping down in defeat.

While Asuna moped about missing her catch, all the other players began laughing at Kirito's loss. "Ha! Serves filthy beater trash like you right!" Others lobbed insult and jives one after another, even with Leafa's glare staring them down hard.

Uncaring as ever, Kirito simply lowered his raised hand and gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "Oopsies, guess I got careless, huh?" He walked up to Asuna in her prone position and gave her a quick pat to the shoulder. "Don't worry about it so much."

"Really? Oopsies is all you have to say about losing your weapon?" Asuna couldn't believe the attitude he was taking at essentially losing your lifeline on the battlefield. WIthout a sword, you were as good as dead outside the safety of town.

"Don't worry Asuna. It's not like it was snatched or anything." He helped the girl up onto her feet and gave another shrug. "I can just get it back later."

"Beg pardon?"

"Um, guys." Leafa's interruption focused the two player's attention on her as she pointed to the crowd of players. "We miiight have a problem here."

Both Lind and Kibao had begun arguing about Kirito stealing the kill from the group and blamed each other for their faults. Kibao accused Lind's group of simply standing around and not properly doing their mob and boss rotations which allowed Kirito to steal the kill. The accused argued back that because the tanks took so long to recover, they were forced to play it slower for their sake. Soon the bickering turned into an all out yelling match between Lind and Kibao's groups which thankfully turned the focus away from the beater.

Kirito scoffed at the scene of rabid players on the verge of throwing punches over how a boss was killed. At this rate, they wouldn't last long in the higher floors. "Let them argue like children. It'll let us move on to Taran without any problems."

"But what about your sword? You're just gonna leave it stuck in that abyss?"

Asuna's frantic yell at him made both siblings raise their eyebrows at each other. Leafa moved in to pat the chestnut haired girl on the shoulder and gave a soft pull to her arm. "We're in the middle of a big crowd so explaining would take a while. Let's find a nice place to sit down and talk about it, okay?"

The rapier wielder couldn't help but feel there was something fishy going on with the dodgy behavior the two were displaying. But Kirito was the only way she was gonna get the answer to his carefree attitude about losing his sword. She turned to the beater, who was currently walking to the bridge that reached the next town and called out to him. "You're gonna spill everything when we get there! The mid-air sword skill! What you were doing with your fists! Everything, do I make myself clear?"

Leafa giggled at the way Asuna's yells made her brother flinch just as he began walking the bridge. Even with being all aloof and uncaring, Asuna seemed to be one of the few people who could get a proper reaction out of him with her bold nature. The three of them left the arguing players to their devices as they made their way into the town of Taran.

* * *

The restaurant that they arrived to was pretty much empty since they were the first arrivers at the town while the others were probably still at each other's throats. They all sat down at one of the tables while Kirito fiddled around with the menu. It took him a few seconds but he finally found the menu he was looking for and pressed the 'Yes' button at the final prompt.

In a bright flash, an assortment of items came down to the wooden floor next to the swordsman. Asuna sat baffled at the sudden spawn of numerous items while Kirito shifted through the stuff until he found what he was looking for.

"See? All nice and safe."

She couldn't believe her eyes looking at the same sword that fell down the cliff not too long ago. He even motioned for her to hold it which she obliged to. After taking a few moments to make sure the item was legit, she handed back the sword and took a sip of her drink. "So 'Materialize All Items', huh?"

"Yup, it's a very useful thing to know about. Even if it is quasi-cheating at the exchange of being a pain in the ass to find." As he talked, he showed the girls the exactly flow of menus they needed to go through to access the option. Leafa already knew about it but her brother did have a habit of showing off whenever he had knowledge that other people didn't. "But the thing is that it doesn't work for dropped items after an hour for equipment and only five minutes for items so you gotta be careful."

Asuna put down her drink and looked to her side where her rapier laid in its sheath. "Glad to know even if I'm careless, I won't have to say goodbye to my weapon."

Leafa recognized that look on the girl's face. It was one of looking at a cherished belonging, one that she saw Kirito have many a time during their childhood. "You really like that weapon, huh?"

A soft smile graced Asuna's face while patting the weapon affectionately. "Of course, it's my one and only weapon after all. It's gonna be by my side until the end."

Her smile soon left her face at seeing the two players in front of her both exchange looks of either worry or uncertainty. Almost as if they were engaging in some sort of mental communication that she couldn't hear. Their head motions even seemed to suggest this as they motioned between each other and her with nods and shakes.

' _Are you gonna be the one to tell her, or should I?'_

' _You got this, you're a girl so it should come out easier for you.'_

' _The hells' that supposed to mean? You're the one who's always blunt about this sort of stuff!'_

' _Considering how much she looks to love that thing, I don't wanna just hurt her feelings like that.'_

' _First floor boss room, need I remind you?'_

' _Alright, fine!'_

With their mental sibling argument over, Kirito coughed into his hand to get Asuna's attention. His deadpan look did not bode well for her. "Asuna. You are aware that even if you level that thing to max +6, it isn't gonna last you past the end of the third floor, right?"

"... Come again?"

"I know it sucks but eventually, you're gonna have to upgrade to a stronger weapon to survive. I love my swords as much as the next person but it'll just get me killed if I refuse to get a better-"

"I won't!"

Her sudden outburst surprised both Kirito and Leafa. The black haired girl leaned a bit over the table to place her hand over Asuna's. "You have to understand that this is how RPGs work. Power creep is something that happens universally in these types of games. SAO is no exception to this."

The long haired girl shook her head and moved her hand away from Leafa's. "You don't understand. This weapon is important to me in so many ways. Before I thought it was just a tool to help me survive, but that changed after a while. I became one with it as it moved. So agile and clean as it helped to protect my life. So there's no way I could just abandon it for something else, even if it is stronger! I want to make it to the end with this weapon, with this part of me."

It was very clear to see that Asuna had a deep attachment to her rapier. Something that she didn't want to just give up and trade for the next best thing. A sigh came out of Kirito's mouth, leaning against his woven hands while looking down at the table.

"When I started elementary school, I got to pick out my first bike." He took note of Asuna's confused look and the soft expression his sister was giving him. "I loved that thing more than anything else. But when my mom urged me to pass it down to some other kid in the neighborhood, I rode off to the bike shop and asked the owner to hide it."

Leafa recalled that day very well from their younger years. He treasured that thing like it was his child and always made sure it was keep nice and functioning. She could still recall how miffed their mom was when he started to ride away into the town's bike shop.

"But the guy didn't hide the bike. Instead, he took off a single screw from it and told me; "See this, kid? It's called a crank bolt, it's the most important part of any bike. I'm gonna fix this onto your new bike so it can still carry the soul of your old one.'."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Simple. SAO has a weapon crafting system which is used the most by blacksmiths. You can melt down your old weapons into metal ingots for your new ones." He gave the girl a smile that had both an expression of nostalgia and pride. "That way you can still keep the essence of your first weapon into your next. So on and so forth as we progress through the floors."

Asuna allowed the beater's story to sink in slowly before reaching for her weapon and placing it on the table. Even if she had very little experience in games, it was safe to say neither him nor Leafa were lying about needing stronger items and weapons to move along. But this new info made her give one final look to the rapier that helped her along so much before putting it back down on her belt. "Alright. I think I'll do just that. So that my first weapon can be with me all the way to the end. Even if it is just in soul."

The three of them began talking about more normal things once their discussion ended. The food they ordered arrived which made for some good eating while things become more lively between them. Once they finished their meals, the trio paid the NPCs for the service and exited the restaurant.

"Mmm! That was delicious!" Asuna said while delightfully patting her stomach.

Kirito, while still content with his meal gave a soft shrug. "I dunno. I feel like the food in the beta was better." He buckled forward a bit when Leafa gave a jab to his back. "What was that for?"

"No more beta bragging, for the last time! It's so annoying to hear you complain that things that you liked from the beta aren't in the finished product."

"Yeah, yeah." His dismissal almost made the girl raise her fist again for another go but stopped dead in its tracks once she saw Asuna reach out and grab Kirito's hand followed by her own raised fist.

"Kirito. Leafa. Can you both go out with me?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure." Kirito said while lost in thought.

"..."

The boy stopped cold once he realized what Asuna had just said and had the grace to blush at the implications of what was currently happening. Leafa herself was going through quite the amount of mental processing at what was going on as her own blush began to seep in.

"Come with me to get my rapier upgraded!"

"Oh." Both siblings said at the same time. Kirito's out of slight disappointment and Leafa's out of relief of the meaning of Asuna's words being explained. But their relief didn't last long once the chestnut haired girl began dragging them along town to find a blacksmith to do the job.

Asuna ran along with the two siblings through the city streets. She knew that blacksmith from earlier had to be around here somewhere. Finally, she spotted him after running for a few minutes and ran straight towards him.

Nezha smiled politely at the trio. "Hello. Welcome to my shop."

Asuna pulled out her rapier and handed it to Nezha. "Could you upgrade this for me. I'd like to get it from +4 to +5. And boost the accuracy too."

"... Of course. No problem." Nezha nodded. He took the rapier from Asuna and placed it down. He lit the fire below, engulfing it in flames for a brief moment that caused Kirito, Asuna, and Leafa to shield their eyes. Once the flames died down a bit, Nezha began hammering the blade.

"How many more attempts do you have for your weapon?" Leafa asked. She knew from Kirito that every weapon had a limited number of attempts for upgrading, even if it didn't reach the maximum level.

"Two more." Asuna said. "Meaning if it fails, I won't be able to get it to +6."

"I wouldn't worry. You gave him the maximum number of upgrade materials so your chances of success are almost perfect."

Asuna nodded her head. "Yeah. I just can't help but worry about that small margin of error though." she said. "But hey, at least it's not going to break or anyth-"

Asuna was cut off as the next hammer strike came down. What was different from the rest of them though was the outcome. The outcome here being the blade of Asuna's rapier shattering apart.

Kirito and Asuna starred with eyes widened as it happened. They both slowly glanced at Asuna, who felt like her entire world had shattered along with the sword.

* * *

 **A/N: A shattered weapon, a shattered heart. Asuna sure suffered a bit of a blow that's sure to hit hard. What will she do now that her beloved weapon is gone and what will the sibling duo do to help their partner in this mess. Next chapter will have more answers as this story progresses. Hope you all enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next one that hopefully won't take a month to update. Wish me luck in that regard and have a nice day everyone! Drop a review if you liked it and thanks for over 5k views on the story so far!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hoo boy, I know I'm a tiny bit late with this one but to make up for it, the chapter is a bit longer than usual. Now let us see if Aincrad will be down one blacksmith or if he'll manage to get to safety while the Kirigaya siblings hold the girl back.**

 **Enjoy the Chapter!**

* * *

All four players at current stared in disbelief at what just occurred with Asuna's weapon. No one dared to speak, even as the rapier user fell to her knees with a blank expression on her face. Kirito wanted to speak up but he couldn't find the right thing to say without possibly making the situation worse for her. Soon enough however, the blacksmith Nezha looked up to the girl with an apologetic look on his face.

"Ma'am I am very sorry for what just happened." The man said was bowing a bit low to her. "If you wish, I could replace what I so carelessly ruined with another Wind Fleuret. Does that sound good?"

Asuna shook her head at the generous offer. Most players would eat up a free weapon offer, especially if it was just as if not stronger than their current. But Asuna simply felt hollow inside at the destruction of her beloved partner. "No. It's… It's fine."

It was clear to everyone around that Asuna was most certainly not fine. There was a heartbroken look upon her face and a certain shakiness to her movements that belay her real feelings. She turned back to the siblings and offered a smile to them but anyone could tell it was a smile masking pain and heartbreak. "I'm going to head to bed now. See you two around, alright."

As Asuna turned around to leave, Leafa attempted to reach out to the fellow girl but was stopped by her brother. Kirito gave a solemn shake of his head to her actions. The gesture alone said everything. ' _She needs to be alone right now. We'll only make things worse.'._ It hurt the girl to say nothing after all the things Asuna did to pep her back up after the first floor boss fight. But she knew that Kirito was right and just let her go back to sleep the heartbreak off.

Nehza had remained silent up until Asuna was out of sight before speaking up again. "I am truly sorry. Please tell her that my offer is still on the table if she decides to come back."

"Right. We'll tell her if we see her. C'mon Leafa, let's go home." Kirito tapped Leafa on the shoulder for her to follow. Leafa spared the blacksmith one last look before following in tow.

While the Kirigaya siblings walked back to their place of residence, Asuna had already made her way to an inn. She curled up into a ball on her bed crying her eyes out, her pillow being crushed under the grip of her arms. She had experienced many hardships in the time she's been trapped in this game. The threat of death looming over her, larger than life enemies that wanted nothing more than to destroy her, and groups of players that seemed more likely to fight amongst themselves rather than work together. But nothing until now hurt as much as losing her beloved weapon, an extension of herself ever since she decided to fight for freedom.

She cried harder than she ever had, even more so after learning that she was trapped in this game with no way out. For others it might seem a bit ridiculous for one to be so attached to something that would and should get replaced as time went on. But Asuna often developed attachments to items that were special to her. One such items was a teddy bear that she received from her mother after doing well in school. In her younger years, Asuna loved that toy like nothing else and wanted to keep it with her everywhere she went. But a few months after getting it, the toy was destroyed when a swerving car nearly hit her. Asuna managed to avoid the car but she had to let go of the teddy bear which in turn got run over. She was inconsolable for the next few weeks after learning it was too broken to stitch back up.

It was a weakness of her as a person. Getting too attached to items that she should outgrow as time went on. But in this case, it was something that tied itself to her heart as her resolve to grow stronger and see reality once more. It breaking also broke her drive to even put any effort into anything, even wiping the tears from her face.

She knew that sleep would be escaping her tonight. One of the few soft comforts in Aincrad ripped away from her like her beloved rapier.

* * *

The Kirigaya siblings, being the first few to enter the new town were fortunate enough to have gotten a place to sleep before the other players swarmed in. They decided not to take refuge in the inns as other players who saw them would cause a whole bevy of scenes. Being the number one most hated player and his sidekick tended to attract that sort of behavior from others. So they decided to make a home in an NPC shopkeeper's place of business. With the upper floors vacant due to the constant nature of NPCs and their duty to provide services at all times, it was easy to register the room under their names. Another instance of quasi-cheating as Kirito liked to call it but all's fair game in this world.

The two of them moved past the NPC who greeted them and moved up into their room on the second floor. Upon opening the door to the room, they were greeted by a familiar face sitting on one of the beds.

"'Sup Ki-bou and Knockers, how's it going?" Argo asked, either knowingly or unknowingly sitting on Leafa's pillow.

"Will you stop calling m- Mfph!" Leafa's coming tirade was cut off by Kirito clamping his hand around her mouth. Last thing he wanted was to deal with his sister charging at his fellow beta tester.

"Argo, two things. First, stop pushing your luck with Leafa." He glared slightly when Argo rolled her eyes and made herself even more comfortable in the bed by lying down on it. "Second, how did you get into and know where our room is?"

Argo rolled onto her side and lifted her head with her right arm to stare at Kirito. "Y'know, for bein' a former beta tester, you seem to forget what the Friend Menu can do."

Quickly bringing up his menu, the black clad swordsman clicked his tongue in annoyance that he forgot to set restrictions on who could enter the room. It was set to the default setting of 'Friends Only'. And knowing Argo, she used the tracking feature on the Friend Menu to figure out where they were staying. "That still doesn't explain how you knew where we were."

"A girl's gotta keep an eye and ear on her meal ticket.I know that you won't delete me from your friend list 'cause I'm too important to have around. So when I notice if you're doing something like moving into a new town, I make sure to keep tabs on yer movement."

Having taken her brother's hand off her mouth, Leafa fixed the smaller girl with a stern look. "So breaking and entering is just 'keeping tabs' on us then?"

"Careful Ki-bou, she's learning."

"Alright, what do you want?"

"Just wanted to see if you had some info for trade. Some of the new players on the floor want to keep safe from all the new monsters so they want to learn attack patterns."

"Look Argo, as much as I want to get some extra pocket money, I can't. Asuna's feeling really down over something that happened and I'm trying to figure out how it happened."

"Eh? What did 'ya break her heart or something?"

Kirito ignored that statement and moved to his own bed to sit down. Leafa followed suit as she refused to sit anywhere near the info broker. She made note to change the sheets and covers later to she didn't have to be near her essence. "It happened around twenty minutes ago. We we're at the blacksmiths getting Asuna's rapier upgraded when during the process it suddenly broke. The blacksmith apologized and offered to give her a replacement but Asuna just walked away back to her inn. I never saw her look so destroyed before, it was like seeing a puppy get abandoned."

"Wait a sec here. The weapon was gettin' upgraded, right? What level was it?"

"Near max, why?"

"Oh boy." Argo stood up from her prone position and brought out a notebook from her inventory. She flipped around the pages until she landed on info regarding blacksmiths and upgrading processes. "Now was this blacksmith an NPC or a player? 'Cause if it's one or the other, we might have an issue on our hands."

Leafa's brow raised out of concern of what Argo was implying. "It was a player blacksmith."

The info broker clicked her tongue and moved to another page. "That's what I was afraid of. You see Ki-bou, this ain't the first time it's happened. Other players have had it happen to them as well. First I thought it was some sort of glitch but this game is too solid to suffer from something like that. But then I noticed a trend, all weapons that were 'broken' were either at or near their max level when being upgraded."

Leafa furrowed her brow in thought, thinking back to Nehza during the upgrade process. "That sounds way too suspicious to be a coincidence. He even offered to replace it after breaking it."

"Replacing something he just broke after breaking it?"

"Yup."

"Hmm. Was there any point that the item could've transferred to his inventory?"

Kirito placed a hand under his chin and stroked it in thought. He couldn't really remember a point at which Nehza could've gotten the item into his inventory. Asuna had the item equipped to her during the upgrade process so he couldn't have… "Wait a second…"

"Huh? Did you think of something Kirito?"

Leafa's inquiry was soundly ignored by the swordsman going into overdrive with his thoughts. It was true that Asuna still had the weapon equipped to her person during the time of the upgrade. But the rapier wasn't in her hands at that time so if his understanding of this games logic was to be trusted. It would've classified as a 'dropped' item, an item that anyone, be they player or NPC could interact with.

Interact to the point where they could add it to their inventory when no one was looking. ' _But at what point could he-'_ Kirito's head shot up while he hit the bed frame in frustrating realization, shocking both women present. "The fire!"

"What!?"

"The fire during the upgrade process that made us look away! He could've snuck it into his belongings during that window. But if that's the case…!" Kirito quickly brought up his menu and looked at the time. It was 7:55 PM. "Crap!"

Leafa jumped back in surprise seeing her brother suddenly bolt out the room in such a frenzy. "K-Kirito! Wait!"

Argo watched with curious fascination as both siblings abandoned their room with the boy obviously headed to Asuna. She had to wonder what was so urgent that they forgot to close the door but being the good friend that she is, decided to close it and relax on Leafa's bed once more. She yawned loudly, feeling drowsy once the pillow hit the back of her head. ' _I'm sure he'll let me know what's up after all this blows over. Hope Funbags doesn't mind me sleeping on her bed.'_

* * *

Asuna didn't know how much time had passed after she came back to her inn room. All that she knew is that the empty feeling in her body hadn't ebbed in the slightest. Her body lethargically moved up from her position on the bed, slowly rubbing her eyes and wiping away the tears on her cheeks. She looked at the clock in her room, seeing that not much time had passed which felt strange to her. The girl felt like she had been crying for an eternity but it had hardly been an hour. She sighed to herself, too tired to even cry anymore.

With the one thing that helped her along this death game gone, what was the point of continuing further. A part of her was gone that couldn't be replaced.

However, even with her sunken into the claws of despair. Asuna could faintly make out a stomping noise outside her door. The loud noise grew two fold when the stomps overlapped with each other. Asuna grew a bit curious to the noise as it grew closer to her own room but her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when the door nearly flew off its hinges with Kirito bursting through the door.

"Asuna! Quickly, you have to materialize all your items!" He panted out at the surprised girl.

"K-Kirito!? What are you-"

"Just do it! Materialize all items like I showed you!"

"E-Everything?" Asuna gasped. Her mind quickly went to some of her more… private items. "E-Even…"

"EVERYTHING! Just do it!"

From behind the swordsman, Leafa moved into the doorway looking just as frantic as he. "Asuna just take off everything you own right now and materialize your stuff!"

The chestnut haired girl was stunned with her face red at what her friend was saying. ' _Wh-wh-what is she saying!? With Kirito right next to her no less! Are… they coming on to me? But Leafa's a girl so why would she-. Oh no.'_

"Asuna!" Kirito said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "There's no time! Just trust me and do it!"

Asuna didn't fully understand. She didn't even know why she obeyed but before she could think about what she was doing, she swiped open her menu and began shuffling through it. Finally she reached the specified tab. A confirmation window appeared.

 _Materialize all items. Are you sure?_

 _-Yes -No_

There was a moment's hesitation, but Asuna begrudgingly pressed 'Yes'. At that moment, a pile of items manifested at her bedside. There were potions, random pieces of equipment from drops. And of course, every article of clothing she had, including underwear.

Kirito dived into the pile. "Where is it? Where is it?"

"Come on, Kirito! It's gotta be there!"

Asuna had too many emotions floating around her head to fully comprehend what was going on right now. Kirito, she assumed, was just being a usual teenage pervert going through her underwear. But why was Leafa with him? Was she that kind of girl? Asuna hadn't really noticed it before, but perhaps she was-

But then a different emotion overcame her when she heard Kirito's next words. "Found it!" Pulling an item out from the pile, Asuna gasped at what it was. Her precious Wind Fleuret. And unlike how it had been nearly an hour ago, it was in pristine condition and in one piece.

"That's… how…?" Asuna didn't know what to say as Kirito handed her the rapier. Holding the blade in her arms, Asuna pulled it in close and began weeping softly.

Kirito let out a sigh of relief as he laid down. "That was really cutting it close."

"We made it just in time." Leafa said, looking at the clock. "Another minute, and it would have been gone for good."

"Yep. You can thank us anytime, Asuna." Kirito said with a grin.

"Kirito…" the voice that came from Asuna wasn't the grateful tone he was expecting, but instead one of hidden malice. "I'm glad to have my weapon back. But…" She glared daggers at him. "How long do you intend on lying on my clothes?!"

"Huh?" Kirito suddenly widened his eyes as he realized he was resting on an assortment of the chestnut haired girl's lingerie. As he quickly got up, he widened his eyes in dread as a bra strap was hanging on his arm.

"You… You…"

"A-Asuna, look I can explain. You see-"

"YOU DISGUSTING PERVERT!" Asuna screamed as she unsheathed her Wind Fleuret and aimed a sword skill at him.

"Woah!" Kirito quickly ducked under the thrust that came for him, the force of the shockwave that followed scaring him almost as much as the attack. "A-Asuna, I'm sorry. It's just."

"GET OUT!"

Kirito didn't need to be told twice as he sped out of the room with speed that would rival Asuna at her fastest. He made it back to his room with record time, shutting the door behind him and breathing heavily.

"So…" Argo's voice came from the room, the info broker laying on one of the beds with an interested smirk on her face. "Care to tell what happened?"

"Asuna got her rapier back. Let's just leave it at that." Kirito said with an exhausted sigh. He walked over to his bed and collapsed on it.

Another few minutes passed before Leafa finally returned to the room. The younger sibling let out a sigh. "Well Asuna's calmed down a little. But we should probably wait until tomorrow to explain the specifics. She needs some rest now."

"Sounds good." Kirito agreed.

"Yeah, so I'm gonna hit the- Hey!" Leafa suddenly realized Argo laying on her bed. "What are you still doing in our room?! And on my bed no less?!"

"Ah, calm down Big Rack." Argo replied, enjoying the usual look of rage from Leafa. "So what happened to make Ki-bou run for the hills?"

"None of your business!" Kirito shouted, not wanting Argo to have any information to use against him. "Look Argo, it's been a long day. Can you please just leave."

"Fine, fine." the info broker said, getting up from the bed. "I gotta do some investigating of my own anyway. See you around."

The Kirigaya siblings both laid on their beds. Between the field boss fight, Asuna losing her rapier, and them barely getting it back, today had been hectic to say the least. Within minutes, both Kirito and Leafa were fast asleep.

* * *

 _-The next day-_

Even though Asuna now had her rapier back, it was clear that she was being a bit… reclusive to say the least. When Kirito and Leafa went to check on her in the morning, she had the blanket over her as she sat on the bed, while hugging her rapier in its sheath tightly. Argo was there with them too to fully go over the information they knew.

"So you said you were going to explain how you got my Wind Fleuret back?" Asuna asked the two siblings.

Leafa nodded her head. "You explain it Kirito. You're better at explaining this game mechanic stuff."

"Alright. Well for starters, back in the beta, there was only one way for a weapon to break during an upgrade. That would be for the weapon to have already gone under the maximum number of upgrade attempts. I thought perhaps that had changed, but from what Argo has gathered so far, that isn't the case."

"But my Wind Fleuret still had another two attempts left on it." Asuna said.

Kirito nodded his head. "Right. But the Wind Fleuret we saw shatter and your Wind Fleuret weren't the same weapon."

Asuna tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean? I handed it to him, we all saw it."

"Right. But there's a special little skill in SAO. It's called Quick Change." Kirito explained. "Basically, it allows you to swap your current weapon with another one set in your inventory in the blink of an eye. You have to open your menu and press a tab to do it though."

"And that was done when that fire first flashed and we shielded our eyes, right?" Leafa guessed, following her brother's train of thought.

"Exactly. Asuna's weapon was swapped at that very moment for another Wind Fleuret. One that was weaker but had already hit the maximum number of attempts. He put Asuna's in his inventory while bringing out the other one with Quick Change."

"So he's hording powerful weapons for himself." Leafa said. "What a jerk."

"I don't think that's exactly the case." Kirito said with a shake of his head. He looked over at Argo. "Did you follow him like I asked?"

Argo nodded her head. "Yup. After he closed up shop, he went to meet with these four cloaked guys in an alleyway. He looked like he was showing them something, but something went wrong. Probably him noticing that he no longer had Asuna's Wind Fleuret."

Kirito raised a brow. "Four? You're sure it wasn't five?"

Argo nodded her head. "I'm sure."

"Hmm… I thought I was onto something, but maybe not." Kirito muttered.

"Either way" Argo said. "Shouldn't we go public with this? With my information network, we'd have this Nezha guy cornered within a day."

Kirito shook his head. "No, I don't think we should go public with this just yet."

"What?! Why?!" Leafa asked. "We can't just let this guy keep scamming people!"

"After his failed attempt last night, he probably realizes that someone's onto his scam. He'll probably lay low for a bit." Kirito explained. "Plus, if we make this well known, it could lead to something much worse." A serious look came to the raven haired teen's face. "It'd be one thing if he still had all of the weapons he stole from players. But if he's sold them to make some quick cash, then those weapons are lost forever."

"In which case, there's one form of punishment that most players will lean towards." Argo realized. "PK."

Leafa widened her eyes, realizing the truth behind Kirito and Argo's words. The three of them all looked worriedly at each other.

Asuna however, broke up the tense moment. "What's PK?"

The three of them all glanced at each other. It was clear that Asuna wasn't much of a gamer, so terms like PK would be foreign to her. But this particular one was a bit grim, considering the nature of SAO.

"Player killing." Kirito told her. "It's when a player kills another player. In this case, a public execution of Nezha the blacksmith."

Asuna covered her gasp with both her hands. "But with SAO how it is, that would mean-"

"That's why we can't go public with this. Not yet at least." Kirito told her.

"We know a method. Next we need a motive." Argo said. "After that, finding out where all the weapons went. If he comes forward and apologises, then finds some way to make things right, we may be able to calm the anger of the players."

"But how do we do that?" Leafa asked. "I mean he's not just gonna tell us if we ask him nicely. We'd have to corner him."

"About that…" Kirito said. "I've got an idea."

* * *

Nezha sat in the streets of town. It had been a somewhat fairly slow day so far. He was one of the few, if not only player blacksmith in the game so far, so business was usually a bit better than this. But there were always slow days, whether he liked it or not.

"Excuse me." the voice of a player caught Nezha's attention. It was a man dressed up in heavy armor, even wearing a helmet that covered their face. There were always players like that, ones that found it necessary to keep every part of them protected. "I was wondering if you could upgrade my sword. I have enough materials to max out the success rate."

"Of course." Nezha nodded. He took the sword from the player and began hammering.

Little did Nezha know however that he was being watched. In the inn to the back of him, Asuna and Leafa watched the scene unfold from a window, along with Argo.

"I know it's tough with that sudden light, but make sure to keep an eye on him even when the fire starts." Argo mentioned. "We need definitive proof that this is his method."

"Right." Asuna and Leafa nodded.

Taking a look out the window, the three girls saw Nezha discretely move his hand behind the stack of wares he had, hidden from the view of his customer. He swiped his fingers down opening the menu. Just as the fire started, he pressed a tab and the weapon in his hand switched with that of another.

"There! Just now! Did you see that?!" Leafa exclaimed.

Asuna nodded her head. "So he really is using that Quick Change skill."

"There's just one thing that I find weird though." Argo said. The other two girls looked at her curiously. "Quick Change is a somewhat tough skill to get. You have to increase your weapon proficiency by 50 to even select it as a bonus skill. So why would a blacksmith have it?"

"Hmm… That is a good question." Asuna said.

"We'll just have to ask him ourselves once we've caught him." Leafa said. "Speaking of which…"

At that moment, the sword that Nezha had been hammering up until then shattered, just like with the rapier when Asuna had gone earlier. The sword split in two.

"I'm so sorry!" Nezha exclaimed, bowing his head. "My sincerest apologies sir!"

"Nah, it's alright." the player said.

Nezha blinked his eyes in confusion and looked up at the player. "What?"

The player looked up at the window where Asuna and Leafa were. Leafa gave the confirmation of a thumbs up, and the player opened his menu, removing the thick layer of armor he had on to reveal himself as Kirito. He then pressed a tab and the sword he had given to Nezha was back in his hand. "Quick Change. A nifty little skill, isn't it? You used it to swap out weapons with spent ones in order to steal them from players. A simple, yet genius method."

"Wh-What?!" Nezha gasped. "How did you-"

"For now let's take a walk." Kirito said, sheathing his sword onto his back. "You have some explaining to do."

* * *

Night had fallen on Aincrad, as Kirito, Asuna, Leafa, and Argo brought Nezha to a fancy building on the edge of town. It was one of the most expensive inns to sleep at in the town they were at, but it did come with a nice large room, including a table, as well as a balcony to look outside. Nezha was currently sitting at one end of the table while the foursome of Kirito, Asuna, Argo, and Leafa were gathered at the other end.

"So let me see if I have this straight." Kirito said. "You scammed people out of their weapons, sold them, and then lived large off the money. Does that sum up what you've told us?"

Nezha nodded his head, staring at the floor. "Yes. I don't know how I can apologise for what I've done,but-"

"You do realize people are risking their actual _lives_ here, going crazy to upgrade their equipment to help clear floors and get us out of this game, right?" Kirito asked. "And you wasted those weapons all on your own selfish greed?"

"I know." Nezha said. "There's no way I can apologise for the damage I've done."

"I see." Argo said. "Now why don't you tell us the truth?"

"Huh?"

"You say you've been living large off the money you've made, but I've been following you for the past few days." Argo explained. "You've been living a simple life. No real extravagances to speak of."

"Well-"

"It's not just that." Argo said. "You're the only player blacksmith in Aincrad. You have the market cornered. So why would you even need to run this scam in the first place if money was your objective?" The info broker smirked. "Unless of course, you're taking the col you made and offering it to someone else."

"Wh-What?!" Nezha said, letting out an obviously forced laugh. "What proof could you possibly-"

"Nezha." Argo said, stating the name very sternly. "I didn't notice it at first, because the Japanese form of the name is more commonly Nataku. Nazha, Prince Nata. A boy prince from the Chinese epic Fengshen Yanyi."

"Quite a figure." Kirito said. "What would you classify him as?"

"Well…" Leafa added with a knowing grin. "I'd say he sounds pretty similar to the legendary Orlando, peer of charlemagne. Or Beowulf, the root of all modern western fantasy." The list caused Nezha to gulp, something they all noticed.

"You might call Nezha… a legendary brave hero." Asuna finished. "Like the Legend Braves group."

Nezha's silence was all the confirmation they needed. "I knew it." Kirito said. "You're raising your funds for them. That's how they were able to get that high grade armor, despite their levels not being that high. And how they were able to join the front lines out of nowhere without anyone noticing."

"It also explains Orlando's sudden praise out by the field boss that one time." Leafa said. "It was to increase your popularity to get more customers, or in this case victims."

"Answer us Nezha!" Kirito shouted, slamming his hands on the table. "Why out of the entire group are you the only one taking any risks in this! Are they promising something in return?! Why are you, why are THEY running this crazy scam?!"

Leafa looked at her brother worriedly after his loud outburst. "K-Kirito, calm down. It's nothing to get this worked up over."

"Yes it is!" Kirito said. "If this keeps up, the Legend Braves will stand far above any other group in terms of power! If that happens, then they're free to make the rules! Such as dealing with anyone that stands up to them with violence!" He crossed his arms. "Something like that happening would destroy the balance among the front lines."

"Actually… I'm not sure that's what's going on here." Asuna said, stepping forward.

"Asuna?" Kirito asked with a raised brow.

Reaching to her belt, Asuna pulled out a throwing knife. "When I was looking at your menu, I noticed another skill besides your smithing skill. The throwing knife skill. Odd that someone, especially a blacksmith, would bother leveling up such a skill at this stage of the game. Usually someone would focus on a main weapon for a skill, and use this as a side one if anything."

"What are you getting at Asuna?" Leafa asked.

Asuna held out the throwing knife in front of Nezha. "Go on. Take it."

Kirito, Leafa, and Argo watched as Nezha reached out for the knife. As he curled his hand to grip it, he came short, just barely tapping the object with his fingers. It hadn't been because of arm length either, he could have reached further had he wanted to.

"I knew it." Asuna said. "You're blind in one eye, aren't you? That's why you used a long range weapon like throwing knives."

"It's… It's not as if I can't see." Nezha said, tears coming to his eyes. "It's just that through the Nerve Gear, I've lost it."

Kirito's eyes widened. "I see. An FNC."

"FNC?" Leafa asked.

"Full-dive Non-Conformity." Argo said, following Kirito's train of thought. "It sometimes happens with the Nerve Gear. An interference between the Nerve Gear and the brain, causing some form of loss in senses. In some cases, the user won't be able to dive at all."

"So in Nezha's case, it's his depth perception." Asuna realized. "That's fatal in a game like SAO."

"And I'm guessing…" Kirito added. "That the Legend Braves held this over you, and forced you into doing this scam-"

"They would never do that!" Nezha shouted, stunning the group.

"Then it's the opposite." Asuna summarized. "The Braves never abandoned him. Instead, they were handicapped, having to cover for their weaker member."

"The Legend Braves were always highly ranked in whatever game we played." Nezha said. "When SAO was announced, we were so excited. But then… my FNC ruined everything!" He curled his hands tightly as he cried. "The others tried hard to help me train. Of course, no everyone was happy about it. But Orlando… Orlando never abandoned me!"

Kirito and the others listened as Nezha talked. It was clear that Nezha and the Legend Braves were close. But that only must have made things harder when they couldn't progress far with a handicapped member.

"In the end, we realized that my throwing knife skill wouldn't be good enough no matter how hard I worked. We realized we couldn't make up the distance we had lost due to me. When the notification was sent out for the first floor boss raid, none of us were at the minimum level required for the raid party." Nezha explained. "That was when this one guy showed up. He came up with the idea for the blacksmithing scam to make lots of money. But in the end, it was my idea! I did it! For my own selfish reasons!" Nezha got up and opened the door the balcony, standing on the edge. "And I know… there's only one way for me to make up for my sin!"

The group of four gasped. "No! Don't do it!" Leafa gasped.

Nezha leaned back and let his body fall. ' _This should be enough to settle the matter for good. Forgive me Orlando. Everyone.'_

Nezha began to feel the sensation of falling, but he only fell a couple of feet before he felt something grab onto his leg. He widened his eyes to see Asuna holding onto him. She was leaning over the balcony, with Leafa holding onto her, and Kirito holding Leafa.

"You can't do this!" Asuna shouted at him. "I get it! I know what it's like feeling like you're letting down the people you care about! I really do!"

Asuna wasn't lying. She knew from her background how hard it was. She studied hard in school, went to a prestigious girls-only school, all for her parents. But even with all her hard work, her mother eventually stopped looking at her with that proud smile on her face. Eventually, getting straight As was just "what was expected" of her. It hurt, not having that parental affection she longed for so much.

"You can't die… not like this…" Asuna grunted as she struggled to hold onto him. "If you're going to die… then die as a hero!"

"Kirito, hurry it up!" Leafa told her brother. "Pull us up!"

"I'm trying!" Kirito grunted. "But you're all so hea-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Leafa shouted at him. "And you better not be looking up my skirt!"

"Will you shut up! Does it look like I have the freedom to do that right now?!" Kirito shouted as he struggled to hold onto the three of them. "Argo! A strength boosting item! Hurry!"

"Right, I'm on it!" Argo nodded as she frantically opened her menu and scrolled down her item list. She finally found the item she was looking for and used it on Kirito.

Suddenly, Kirito felt a huge surge of strength flow through him. Without warning he not only managed to pull Asuna, Leafa, and Nezha up, but flung them back in the room.

"Oww…" Leafa groaned.

"Sorry." Kirito said, rubbing the back of his head. "That strength boost just came so suddenly." He walked across the room, over to Nezha. "Now then, Nezha. If Asuna's correct, then your throwing knife skill must be pretty impressive. Even without a sense of depth, there's the system asist to guide you-"

"I know that already!" Nezha said. "But that won't serve any practical use in battle! Not unless I get something that doesn't have an ammo limit!"

"True." the raven haired swordsman said. "A throwing weapon without an ammo limit would be far too unfair for a game like SAO. However..." he opened his menu and pulled out a ring-like object. "You could also use a weapon that comes back to you." Spinning the weapon around his finger, Kirito looked at Nezha. "This was the Last Attack Bonus dropped by the field boss the other day. A chakram. That said, you need another skill in order to equip this."

"But… I don't have any open skill slots." Nezha said.

"I see." Kirito said. "Well then let me offer you another option. That is… discarding your smithing skill in order to put something else in its place."

Nezha stared at the ground. Although he had used his smithing skill for this scam up until now, it was his only current use to the Legend Braves. But if Kirito was right… then there was another way for him to be useful. A way to finally be able to fight alongside his friends.

"What is this other skill?" Nezha asked.

* * *

 **A/N: And with that, the secret of Nezha has been brought to light. What is this special skill Kirito mentioned? No spoilers in the reviews please for those who haven't read Progressive. Also, as some of you who are familiar with the Progressive story may have realized, I used a different way for Asuna to discover Nezha's depth perception handicap. I did this because I hadn't added in the scene that causes Asuna to figure out Nezha's secret. There will be a few small differences like this in this fic, but it won't be anything too story-changing. Hope you all liked the chapter and I hope to have the next one out soon. Drop a review if you liked it and have a good one!**


	8. Chapter 8

The bright chirping of birds chimed through the gravel road walkway of the road Kirito and his 'party' were currently on. With Nezha's secret now known to them, finding an alternative for combat had become a priority. The blacksmith, now willing to be a much greater help to his friends than simply being a weapon scammer, wanted to get this done posthaste. So the swordsman complied with his wish.

"Anytime you wanna let us in on this secret of yours would be lovely, Kirito." Asuna chimed in. She was slightly annoyed that she was being strung along by the boy's silence on the matter. But since he vaguely said it had something to do with the skill he used on the field boss, it had her curious.

"Oh ye of little faith. We're almost there."

' _Yeah, like when you said that ten minutes ago.'_

Brushing aside the glare he was most likely receiving from the chestnut haired girl, Kirito lead them down farther into the gravel trail until the road opened up. "And we have arrived."

Nezha, Asuna, Argo and Leafa all moved past him to see what the whole trek had lead to. The area was a bit of a contrast to the savannah like appearance of the entire floor. Looking more like an oasis in the dry landscape. The gravel turned into a gray, stoney color with borders of grass lining up where the entrance was. A river was running through the surrounding area with large rocks peppered near the shore basin of the riverbed. On top of one of the rocks was one old man sitting in meditation. His Buddah-like monk outfit making him stand out like a sore thumb in comparison to everything here. A green quest marker floating above his head.

Kirito stepped in front of the others and pointed behind him to the old man. "This is where you come to learn the skill I used on that overgrown cow. That monk has a quest that teaches you martial arts skills to use without a weapon. This is the skill I was talking about to help Nezha wield his new chakram with precision."

"So I just need to clear the quest to get access to the skill?" Nezha asked.

Both Kirito and Leafa nodded their heads. "Yup, but keep in mind it's a long one that you can't just back out of when you feel like it."

That got Asuna's attention. "What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see when Nezha accepts the quest. Go on man."

The former blacksmith moved up to the rock where the old man was sitting and tapped on it. "U-Um, hello?" Nezha backed up in surprise when the monk suddenly jumped high into the air and landed right in front of him, smooth like a cat.

"Ah, hello young man. Might you be here to learn the way of the fist?"

A screen popped up in front of Nezha asking him if he wanted to accept the quest. He immediately hit the yes prompt and bowed to the NPC. "Y-Yes! I want to learn how to use martial arts please!"

"Very well. I see there is a determination boiling deep inside you to learn. Such a desire like that only makes me want to set you on the path even more. Hold still one second."

Nezha tensed slightly as the monk NPC took hold of his face and rubbed at his cheeks. Within a minute the hands left his face as the monk smiled at him. "Now, I want you to crush one of these boulders. However…" With a quick rush past Nezha, he quickly swiped the player's weapons from him. "You will not have use of your weapons for the duration of this trial. Aside from using your weapons, you may break the boulder however you wish. Using your fists, your legs" The monk tapped his bald forehead. "Even your head if you must."

' _Yeah, but not like anyone's actually thickheaded enough to headbut their way through these boulders.'_ Kirito thought.

Nezha turned around back to the party and walked to them but noted that they were either looking very amused or, in Asuna's case, very confused. "What's with those looks?"

"Oh nothing Nyazha." Leafa giggled.

Confused as to the meaning of her words, Nezha materialized a mirror to look at himself and was shocked to see whisker-like markings on his face. Something the monk must have done while touching his face earlier. Ones that looked strikingly similar to the ones that Argo had.

"Yeah, that's what I was alluding to." Kirito began. "The monk marks you with that as a sign that the quest is underway. This quest has no time limit but those whiskers won't leave until you break the rock."

Asune look a sideline glance to Argo. The info broker tensing up the slightest bit when she felt the gaze on her. "So is that why-?"

"Oh yeah. Our little friend here didn't feel like completing it in the beta so those marking stuck to her avatar. No matter how much she changed it afterwards, those whiskers stuck around even to this day."

Kirito's jab at the blonde made her bristle with an unpleasant look on her face. A look that Leafa took a welcomingly cathartic feeling to as their feuds often ended in Argo's favor. It was nice to see the short stack be taken down a peg. "I just didn't want to waste my time with learning a useless skill. I'm an info broker, not some front lining meat head like you lot. Besides, I like how they look now so I'm not just gonna get rid of it."

Argo's sharp tongue was ignored by the siblings who both brought up their quest logs. "As you can see, Kirito and I already completed the quest around a day or so ago before the field boss fight. He was very insistent that we learn it for convenience sake."

"Yeah after it took you around half an hour to get up from the floor laughing."

"Can you blame me when you looked so ridiculous with those whiskers? He looked like some cat boy in a dating sim game."

The others laughed at the thought to which Kirito sighed. He was gonna find a way to get even at his sister for making him the butt of the conversation. "Anyways Nezha. The sooner you get that quest done, the better. You'll be able to use that chakram like nobody's business when you've completed it."

Nezha nodded his head and walked up to one of the rocks. If it was going to take a while, might as well try and complete it as soon as he can.

"Well now that I've shown you where I got the skill, I take it we're even from here on out. Right, Asuna? I'd say after the floor boss is killed, you can learn it whenever you want." Turning around to the rapier user, Kirito was a bit curious to see her looking at him with an almost disappointed look to his face. "What?"

"To be honest, I don't think I'm gonna accept this quest." Asuna looked to where Nezha was striking at his rock and shook her head. "I would rather not fall behind everyone on the front lines to learn something so miniscule."

"Ho, ho, ho! It doesn't surprise me that you don't want to learn, little girl." The monk suddenly called out to her. He jumped off his rock to face the player who stepped back at his approach. "A frail girl like yourself wouldn't be able to handle the training I'd put you through."

Kirito almost wanted to snicker at the low blow the NPC just went for. Some quest based NPCs were made with more complex AI than say the shopkeepers in town or other quest holders. A certain line of dialogue could often trigger an NPC to speak prompted lines in response if they were close enough. Asuna's dismissal of the quest must have made the monk follow through with some preset lines.

' _Although going the straight sexism route certainly was surprising.'_

"Excuse you!?"

The monk laughed again which only served to infuriate Asuna further. "Oh yes, a woman like you has no place learning such physical arts." Seeing the NPC suddenly leer at her chest and lower body, Asuna covered herself from the look. "Though with a body like yours, I could offer to teach you some more 'sensual' arts if you'd like."

"Die!" Asuna immediately pulled out her rapier and tried to stab the NPC in the face. The monk batted away the strike with his open palm and stepped back. She gave chase, wanting nothing more than to stab him through the face but the monk kept laughing and dodging each attempt.

"Such fury for a lovely face. Surely you have nothing to gain from learning my martial arts."

"Oh yeah!? I'll show you!" In her fit of rage, Asuna ended up with the prompt to accept the quest and furiously pushed the 'yes' option. "I'll learn your martial arts then use them to beat the crap out of you, damned pervert!" She gasped when the NPC rushed past her and held her rapier in his hands.

"Then you won't be needing this until you show me you can break on of those rocks. And for the finishing touch…" Asuna quickly threw a punch when the felt the monk touch her cheeks but he merely jumped out of the way and landed back on his rocky perch. "Good luck young lady. Be sure to prove me wrong."

Asuna almost wanted to kick herself for getting caught up in the taunts of a virtual man but there was no helping it at this point. Her face was marked with those whiskers so she needed to get this done with. A sudden shuffling of gravel behind her made her turn around to see Leafa pinching her brow, Argo looking on with a bemused expression and Kirito on his rear end looking at her like she was crazy.

"Asuna, are you an idiot!?" Yep, that was the confirmation she needed to hear. "You know the boss raid is in three days right? It took us that long just to complete this quest and that's accounting for Leafa's procrastination at times!" He grunted when his sister kicked him in the side but still managed to stand up. "You'll miss the raid just because you got baited in by an NPC."

"Well then I'll just complete it before then. You can count on both Nezha AND I to be there for the boss raid. Just you see." Not sparing anymore words, Asuna went to one of the rocks and began striking at it with her fists. Kirito and the others took note that she picked the rock that was the furthest away from the monk.

"Well looks like there's no helping it, eh Ki-bou?" Argo chimed in casually. "She ain't gonna back down no matter what we say to her."

The black swordsman sighed deeply at this turn of events. He was not looking forward to the accusations that he was gonna hear at the boss raid if Asuna didn't make it on time. Mostly because she was last seen with him and Leafa and plenty of people were willing to go for the low hanging fruit. "Well I guess we should just leave her to it then. What are you gonna do in the meantime Argo?"

The smaller girl shrugged with her usual grin. "I dunno, maybe dig up some dirt on people, get into a quest or two while the big boys on the front lines keep doing their jobs."

"So using others to your own benefit again." Leafa deadpanned.

The Rat snapped her fingers towards the younger sibling, much to her annoyance. "You got it Double Ds. Information networking and gathering is my bread and butter after all." She sidestepped a thrown punch by Leafa and scattered off to the road they came from. "See ya guys later!"

Deciding it was better to put his sister's seething anger to better use, Kirito lifted Leafa over his shoulder and began walking back to the fields of Floor 2. Better to get some grinding in while they could before this boss raid. He hoped that he wouldn't have to put in extra effort if Asuna was absent by that time.

* * *

Over the course of the next few days there was little going ons for the familiar group. Nezha and Asuna were working tirelessly into their task to break the rocks. The Kirigaya siblings were off getting stronger by grinding what was to be considered the best grinding area near the boss dungeon. And Argo was doing her usual grinding of information to sell to willing players that dealt with her exorbitant pricing.

With the black haired siblings near the wastes of the boss dungeon, the two of them were currently chopping through a herd of Trembling Ox and the Windwasps that congregated near them. Normally working through such a hoard would be suicide but Leafa had taken a notice of behavior when it came to the monsters. The wasps only attacked if either the ox or another wasp was attacked. The ox on the other hand stayed put until provoked like most bovine tend to do in the real world. With Leafa tossing rocks at the bugs to get their attention away from the herd, the two of them created a system of kiting the weaker ones off first before going for the powerful ones.

An engrossing strategy to say the least as they nearly spent an entire day doing this to great effect. The Col they managed to accrue was a good lump sum to treat themselves to another visit to the local restaurant in the town of Taran, the town located nearest to the dungeon and with a bevy of new goods to purchase. Noticing the sun was setting to dusk, Kirito and Leafa decided to pack it up for the day just as a new wave spawned in.

"How's your material list looking?" Kirito asked while looking through his menu.

Taking a look at her own menu, Leafa scrolled down the long list. "Bunch of wind stingers, rough hides and gnarled horns. Could be decent for upgrade materials at a blacksmith."

"Just not Nezha I hope."

The two shared a brief chuckle for a moment but the mention of his name brought their minds to both him and Asuna. Leafa was the slightest bit concerned over their safety but Kirito assured her that the area they were in was a safe zone free of monsters. And knocking how headstrong Asuna was, there was no way she was gonna run back to town only to walk back and continue.

There was both a blessing and a curse to being trapped in this game. As far as stamina and fatigue was concerned, it was a non issue. A player would never get exhausted in the physical sense as their body's were helped by the system to be stronger than regular people. Which is why one could fight for hours and be fine in those senses. But overtaxing physical effort was commonly known to trigger mental stress and fatigue which caused loss of focus, tiredness and general bodily weakness. Although it was a luxury that one who was not fighting on the fields never truly needed sleep, like food, it was never recommended that one ignore such a human facet for good health. In a game that is kill or be killed, being sharp in both body and mind was essential.

But knowing Asuna, she was too proud to admit defeat. Especially when provoked like she was.

"... Say, Kirito. Should we go and… you know?"

The older brother shook his head as they continued walking back to town. "No, she's fine. She'd probably yell at us to leave her alone if we came to visit her now."

Leafa wanted to disagree but couldn't find the need to open her mouth at the statement. Though they only knew each other for a few weeks, a month at high, she felt like Asuna was just like Kirito described her. Someone who wanted to accomplish her own deeds with her own strength. So she relented and continued walking with her brother in silence. At least until a shuffling of armor was rattling near them.

"Yo! Kirito, Leafa! Long time no see!"

In a fit of surprise, both of them looked up to see Klein walking to them with his friends in tow. All of them dressed in eastern styled armor with a red, black and green theme to it. Not quite samurais but darn near close. The bandana wearing red head ran up to the pair and clasped them on the shoulders. "How are you guys doing? Haven't seen ya since floor 1!"

"Good to see your alive, Klein." Leafa said while giving the same clasp back at him. "I see you and your friends are doing well."

Klein released the two of them to give Leafa a soft noogie from her jab. "And what is that suppose to mean? Of course I'm alive, I'm gonna conquer this game after all."

"Yeah about as well as you conquered that boar on floor 1." Kirito snarked from the side.

"Ouch, you two sure know how to cut deep. Glad that hasn't changed about you two." Releasing the young girl, Klein backed up a bit to look at the both of them. "But you two sure have been busy. Already pretty high leveled for the area we're in."

Kirito took a look at Klein's HP bar above his head and took notice of his own gains. "You haven't been slouching either. Level 13, huh?"

"Yup! Gotta be an inspiration to the boys over here." Although Klein couldn't see it, the siblings inwardly smiled at seeing his friends roll their eyes. "Ain't nothing in this world that's gonna stop Fuurinkazan!"

"Fuurinkazan?"

"That's gonna be the name of my guild once we reach the point where we can make them. It's gonna be all of us together on the front lines!"

With the information from the beta testers being spread around so wildly after floor 1 was cleared. It was made public knowledge that once floor 3 was reached, player made guilds could be formed. The talk of Kibao's and Lind's groups starting to grow in size was one of the reasons that the idea of guilds started to be thrown around. Kibao's Aincrad Liberation Army and Lind's Holy Dragon Alliance were the talk of the town in the front lines. And since it was only a day and a half until this floor would hopefully be cleared, it made sense that people were excited about it.

Of course, being the loners that they were, Kirito and Leafa couldn't care less about forming or joining any guilds.

"Well that's nice. Gotta keep charisma high in the front lines."

"Speaking of which, you guys gonna be coming to the boss raid in two days?" Both of them saw Klein's party members look to each other with uneasy glances. That told them everything they needed to know. "I didn't mean to step on toes."

"Nah, don't worry about Leafa." Klein said with a shake of his head. "Truth is while we're a bit more confident in our skills, field bosses are still giving us a tough time. We're a team so we gotta make sure all of us can keep up in a fight."

"So that's why you guys decided to stay out of the floor 1 boss fight." Kirito guessed.

Klein nodded his head. "Right on the mark, Kirito. Glad you were worried about us though. There's still the invite if you're ever up to it."

Leafa shook her head at the offer. "Thanks but we're fine as is. We… sort of have a regular group recently. So you don't have to worry about us."

Letting out a bit of a laugh, the older guy patted both the teens on the shoulder with a smile. "Glad to see you nerds breaking out your shells to actually talk to people. If these people are willing to put up with your sass and Mr. Know it all over here, then they gotta be good people."

The younger sister nearly let a scowl show on her face at remembering the smug Argo. But she managed to catch herself before it happened. "Yeah… They're good alright."

"Well hate to cut this convo short but we got some training to do." The guys behind Klein all gathered up their weapons and walked next to their boss. "Got any hot tips to share about the monsters?"

As Leafa walked a bit ahead of her brother, she took a good look at seeing him explain their strategy. It was nice to see them chat, having Kirito chat openly without any of the snark he was forced to put on as the role of the beater. With the whole world, players and monsters alike, against them, it was nice to have a few people who were willing to see past the facade. The illusion of the beater and the opportunist who trails behind him. Asuna, Argo, Agil and Klein with his friends. While small it was still something. And to Leafa that's all that mattered.

The two of them waved goodbye to Klein and the others as they made their way back to town. Satisfied from both their training and from seeing a familiar face. Klein's want to be a heading force in the front lines was refreshing from dealing with the headassery of Kibao and Lind. Hopefully soon enough they would see him and his friends fighting on the vanguard for freedom.

* * *

The last two days flew by for everyone involved. With all the last minute training, info gathering and item stocking, the raid party was slowly gathering near the labyrinth that held the floor boss. If Kirito's knowledge of the beta was accurate, which tended to be for the most part, the boss was a pair of warrior bulls that wielded two handed war hammers. Nato and Baran the Taurus Generals.

To avoid any complications, Kirito made sure to share this knowledge to anyone who would listen. Kibao brushed him off as 'beater trash' but changed his tune once he went to Lind. Groups started to be formed at attacking fronts and defensive roles were assigned. The two leaders of the differing factions butted heads a few times but Agil playing the mediator managed to keep any in fighting from happening.

Like how it was on floor 1, both Kirito and Leafa were put on mob duty with squad H. Though he was apprehensive at first with letting these people lead the charge, being alongside the familiar face of Agil and the group from floor 1 was a nice comfort.

"So 'beater', got any idea where princess is? Thought you three were a regular group of musketeers?"

In the back of his mind, Kirito's mind went back to Asuna's whisker covered cheeks along with her pissed expression. He would normally laugh but her absence was a problem in of itself. "That was a temporary thing, and honestly she got herself caught up in a quest she can't walk away from. I told her it was a mistake to do it before the boss raid but she wouldn't listen."

The conversation between them kept going as the groups starting gathering to enter. Up until Leafa tapped her brother on the shoulder as a new party arrived. "Kirito, look."

At the area where Lind and Kibao were, The Legend Braves were pleading with them to participate in the raid. Without Nezha, the guys seemed to be acting a bit desperate in making themselves known. Both siblings wondered if they were even in the knew about his training with the quest. But that wonder came to an end when the leader, Orlando came marching up to the three of them.

"Thou art a part of squad H in charge of Nato the Taurus General? If it not be too much trouble, would thou mind if we join forces?" The sheer confidence and booming voice of Orlando shook Kirito back a bit, only making Leafa giggle in response. "Should we take the joyful giggle of this fair maiden be a sign of confirmation?" That got Leafa to back off making Agil chuckle.

"B-But sir? We mustn't join with others! The tales of our deeds will be muddled with the rest!" One of the other members yelled overdramatically.

"Silence fool! Is that tone how a hero carries himself?: He sighed out loud and turned to his members. "We are on naught but floor 2, with 98 floor yet to come. Fear not my comrades, our legendary tale shall be told soon enough! With that said, I ask that we join forces!" He turned around to Agil and offered a confident hand. "Though it may be our first time meeting, might I call you Sir Agil?"

Agil looked at the hand for a second before grasping it with a smirk. "You got it, glad to have you on board."

He turned around to Leafa who jumped in surprise when he grabbed her hand and held it in front of him. She almost raised her fist to punch at the man but Kirito quickly held her hand down. "Fair maiden, may I call you Lady Leafa?"

Her brow twitched slightly at the unwanted contact but stayed her hand. "I-If you want, then sure. Just don't get close like this again."

"Ah, how foolish of me to impose on a woman's personal space. It shan't happen again." Moving his eyesight to Kirito, he walked up and offered a hand. "And you sir black swordsman, might I call you Sir Blackie?"

Leafa nearly broke out into a fit of laughing coughs while Agil was barely hiding a huge smirk of hilarity at the title. Kirito stood dumbfounded for a second before shaking his head. "Now hold on just a second-!"

"It's alright, we call him that all the time." Agil answered for the teen.

' _You damn traitor!'_

Lind clapped to get everyone's attention. "Alright everyone! It's time to take this boss down and keep moving forward! Nothing's gonna stop up from moving up to the next floor!"

"Hold it!"

Kibao's cry made Lind trip over himself slightly before turning around at the rival 'leader'. "What!?"

"We might be confident in our chances of victory but this could be just like Illfang. He was already different than in the beta so how could we tell if there was something different."

Agil moved up to Kibao and waved the familiar booklet around. "An info broker who was a beta tester updated the info for this floor. And while things have been for the most part the same as they were, bosses tend to be the black sheep of the equation. I'm assuming everyone read up on the boss before hand?" Seeing numerous players all nod their heads gave some comfort to Agil and the others. "Then we should know if something is wrong and for us to retreat. Plus anyway…" Kirito yelped when the burly man grabbed him into the center of the stage. "We got this guy here to know for sure if anything is wrong."

Kibao scoffed at the idea of relying on the beater trash and his sidekick opportunist. "We don't need him to kick this boss's ass. That's why he's and that tramp are on mob duty."

"We're only letting you take the helm because that self confidence boost is the only thing keeping you going." The jab from the black swordsman brought out a low growl from Kibao. There was no way he was gonna let that comment about him and Leafa go unpunished. A verbal lashing should be good enough for someone like him. "But since I'm in a good mood, we'll play nice and let you take on the boss head on."

"Alright, enough of that!" Lind shouted over the din. "Let's get this boss raid going! All squads in position! Forward, march!"

The raid group fell into their formations, walking into the boss room as Lind opened the way. Kirito and Leafa gave one last look back to the way they came in hopes that Asuna would come charging in. But as they entered the room, all focus had to be placed on the duo boss that spawn with their minions.

Baran and Nato, the Taurus Generals.

* * *

"Agh, this is unbelievable… My info tracking frenzy is gonna get me caught in trouble one of these days." Were the words of Argo has she walked down the path a lead gave her.

In most RPGs or MMOs in general, it wasn't hard to imagine new areas being opened up once higher areas were cleared. As the last day for the boss raid approached, a mysterious person gave her a lead to a new cave that spawned in floor 1 sometime between the field boss of floor 2 being cleared and the floor boss raid meeting. Argo being the girl that she was, jumped on the chance to gain any new info and followed the path.

But being lead to a pitch black cave was something she hated doing without her favorite bodyguard duo in Ki-bou and Funbags.

Argo reached into her inventory and pulled out a flint steel along with a large dry branch. With a few clacks, the branch tip was set ablaze as a new torch that helped her see her way. From the way the path narrowed down, it was easy to see this was no trap of sorts since most enemy mobs would have a hard time spawning in with the limited room. Being short in general also helped her move around. After minutes of walking down this cavern, the path opened up to a round room that several old paintings on it.

"What the…?" The info broker marveled at the area until one detail in particular caught her eye. A cave painting mural of the floor 1 boss, Illfang, the Kobold Lord.

The painting divided itself into four parts, one that showed it fighting players with its talwar that it had in the beta. The second picture had one player breaking the weapon in the monster's hand and slaying him. Third was one that had the beast, now newly spawned and alone in his boss room move to a hidden armory that only it could reach. And the final picture had the beast holding it's new nodachi in its hands triumphantly.

"This… This explains everything!" Of course it was foolish to assume everything would be the same from the beta. That would make it much too unfair for all the thousands of other players who never played before hand. So a small, yet monumental change was made to ensure that even the beta players wouldn't get away scott-free with their previous knowledge. ' _And that change is exactly what cost Diavel his life.'_

There had to be more of this sort of info lying around in this cave. If it could give more insight into how future bosses had changed from their beta counterparts, it could prove a massive boon to the frontlines in upcoming encounters.

All for the right price of course, Argo was no saint when there was profitable info to be had.

As she moved around the cave she found what she was looking for. Another crude mural depicting the floor 2 boss duo, Baron and Nato. While the bosses looked the same as they did before, there was one thing that was off in the picture. Or rather, one monster that was off.

Seeing this immediately made Argo bolt out of the cavern like a bat out of hell and start sprinting towards the teleport gate. Once she got their, she made a quick jump to floor 2 and gunned it for the boss raid meeting sight. Hoping that she wasn't too late. "Oh man, oh man, oh man! Come on feet, move faster!"

Her yell of frustration proved to be quite the demotivator once a rouge Trembling Ox caught sight of her ahead and began charging.

"Are you kidding me!? Damn it, I can't kill this thing!" Being a person who focused on info, Argo's combat capabilities were next to none. And in the surrounding area, no one was around to defend her. No one but… "Of course!" As it was her only option she began running to the direction of someone reliable to take out this overgrown heffer. Miss Asuna could take care of anything!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: SURPRISE! What's this? Consistent uploads? This isn't DH at all, burn the witch!**

 **Jokes aside, I was working on this at the same time as my other fic so I am happy to post this within the same 24 period of each other. With the help of TheSib, he and I made sure this chapter was not only long but filled to the brim with actiony goodness and intense moments for all to see. So without further ado, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Hiyah!" Asuna yelled as she swung her leg for a fierce kick at the large boulder in front of her. She would have liked to see it shatter into a million pieces from the hit, but sadly over the course of the three days she had been working to destroy it there was only a crack in it.

' _Damnit, I can't believe how long it's taking to break this thing.'_ Asuna thought to herself. ' _The boss raid is today. Do I even have any chance of making it at this rate?'_

She remembered her words to Kirito and Leafa, promising to finish this quest within three days and make it to the boss fight. Sure, she had probably jumped the gun with the NPC's borderline sexual harassment. But her pride refused to let things end this way.

Plus, there was the special little surprise she had planned with Argo. no way was she planning to miss that.

"This isn't looking good." Nezha said. Over by his rock, Asuna could see he had made even less progress than her. Though she supposed it couldn't be helped considering his lack of depth perception within SAO. "I don't think we're going to make it in time for the boss raid."

"Yes we will! We just have to keep at it!" Asuna shouted. It was more to convince herself than Nezha really. She stood in front of the rock and began throwing punch after punch at it. Her hands hurt like hell from the constant bashing against the hard surface, but she didn't care. "I! Swear! I! Will! Break! This! Damn! Thing!"

After a minute or so, Asuna's strength began to give in. She panted as she cursed herself. "I won't quit… Not ever…"

"Do you think we could ask Argo to convince them to postpone the raid?" Nezha asked.

Asuna shook her head. "No, I don't think so. But I better message her to-"

"ASUNA! HELP ME!"

The sudden shout caused Asuna and Nezha to turn around and see its owner. Asuna's face brightened when she saw Argo and waved to her. "Argo, how's it-" Her expression immediately did a 180 turn when she saw the ox chasing after the info broker. "Why did you bring that thing here?!"

"I was in a rush and messed up my hiding skill attempt!" Argo called back. "Now save me!"

"I don't have my rapier though!"

"Then improvise!"

"What do you expect me to…" Asuna fell silent when she noticed the ox glance her way. Fear overtook her as she trembled. "Nice bull… Easy there boy…"

Her pleas were unanswered however when the ox stopped chasing Argo only to turn and charge at Asuna instead. "Waaaahhhh!"

With her pursuer no longer after her, Argo took a moment to catch her breath. "Ok, listen! I found out some info! There's a clue to the second floor boss somewhere here! We have to break a certain rock!"

"Which one?" Nezha asked.

"It's one called the Hermit's Perch!" Argo pointed over to the rock that the NPC monk was sitting on. "I think it's that one!"

"Are you KIDDING me?!" Asuna shouted back. "It took me three days to even get a crack in the rock I was working on! How do you expect me to-" Asuna cut herself off as an idea flashed in her head. "Wait…"

Quickly halting to a stop, Asuna turned to face the ox. She took off her red coat and held it out, waving it at the bull.

Argo's eye widened. "Is she…"

Seeing the red coat, the ox charged at Asuna in a frenzy rage. Asuna dodged at the last second, the bull rushing past her. Asuna moved to another spot in the field and waved her coat yet again. "Right here, big fella!"

Once again, the ox charged at her. Asuna smirked as she remembered the monk's rules of how they were allowed to clear the quest.

" _Aside from using your weapons, you can break the boulder however you wish. Using your fists, your legs…"_

As the ox came at her, Asuna dodged at the last second once again. But this time, the monster ended up running straight into the rock the monk sat on, splitting it in two and knocking the monster out cold from what was probably a serious headache.

" _...even your head, if you must."_

With the boulder being destroyed, the NPC let out a hearty laugh as he brought out Asuna's rapier. "Congratulations young lady. You have now mastered my-"

"Hiyah!" Asuna yelled as she delivered a fierce upwards kick to the old man's jaw. He fell back as she grabbed her rapier from him. "Oh my precious Wind Fleuret! Mommy's never letting you go again! Never, ever, ever!"

Argo and Nezha blinked in surprise as they tried to process everything that had just happened. "Ok so using oxes to break the rocks works. Gonna have to include _that_ little tidbit in my next version of the guidebook." Argo said. She quickly went to Asuna to make sure the girl was okay while Nezha took a bit of a detour in order to bait another ox to do them same for himself to clear the quest.

After making sure both quests were cleared and Asuna was alright, all three hurried over to the destroyed rock and noticed some stairs leading underground. "Bingo! Nice work Asuna!"

The group of three journeyed down down the stairs together. Argo lit a torch as they walked through an underground cave. At the end, there was a wall painting, very similar to the one she had recently seen depicting Illfang. This one however, showed an entirely different monster, most likely the floor 2 boss.

"Is this… a clue to beat the boss?" Asuna asked.

"Maybe." Nezha said.

"Oh no…" Argo said in a grim tone.

Asuna and Nezha both looked at the info broker. "What is it Argo?" Asuna asked.

"No… no, no, no! This is bad! This is really, really bad!" Argo exclaimed. She took off running out of the cave. "We have to warn the raid party! They're all in really big danger if they go into here using the beta info about the Floor 2 boss!"

"What?!" both Asuna and Nezha exclaimed. They ran after Argo, hurrying together towards the boss labyrinth for Floor 2.

' _Kirito… Leafa… Please be safe…'_ Asuna prayed. ' _Let us make it there in time.'_

* * *

Nato started his charge against the front line in a wild frenzy. Just as the info read, this was the standard attack formation the duo started with.

"Squad B, move into formation!" Lind shouted, making the troops line in to intercept the bull's swing.

"Got it!" With a mighty roar, Kirito parried the attack leaving the boss vulnerable. "Asuna, switch!" A few seconds passed with no one charging in to follow up with the switch. Sparing a glance back to the squad, he mentally kicked himself when he remembered where Asuna was at current. "S-Someone switch in already!"

Answering his call Leafa came in to push Nato back with a Rage Spike. The boss stumbled back a bit which allowed Leafa to look back to her brother with a smug, almost amused expression. "Asuna was the first one on the mind, huh?"

Hearing his squadmates snicker at her comment the swordsman had the grace to blush under the attention before focusing back on the boss. The bull making its way back onto its feet as it reared its fist upwards. "Sh-shut up and look out!"

Leafa yelped at the harsh yank back that brought her away from the shockwave that came from Nato smashing his fist on the ground. Something they were looking forward to as it left the boss in a huge stun delay. "Move in and attack!"

Armored steps answered the call as The Legend Braves moved in on the offensive. "Verily! Sally forth and take him down!" Orlando shouted as the others rallied with him.

Kirito and Leafa both watched the pseudo guild have at the boss as the others focused down Baran. For all their eccentric behavior and bluster, all of them knew how to coordinate their attacks and cover for each other like true teammates.

"You're seeing it right, Kirito?" Leafa said lowly between the two of them. "They know what they're doing."

He nodded while glancing at the others handling Baran for a moment. "Yeah, like Nezha said. Teamwork seems to be their strongest suit even without him." He watched Orlando parry another strike from Nato and saw the axe user come barreling to knock back the boss. "The real deal alright."

A rough hand pressing on his back made Kirito turn around see Agil looking at him with an amused expression. "What's wrong Sir Blackie, missing the last third of the trio?"

He wouldn't out right admit that to anyone listening. Especially not Leafa given how she might lord that over him for the next few floors. "Please, I can make do with that stubborn goat trying to push me around. I got enough to handle with this one here." As per usual he received a kick for that remark but he didn't acknowledge it.

"I think you can leave those knights be, They seem to have the situation under control."

"It's not The Legend Braves I'm worried about. It's the main force dealing with Baran."

A shrill yell of retreating only served to punctuate Kirito's worries as Lind and Kibao both ran to avoid the shockwave from Baran's hammer smashing down against the floor. Multiple players scattered around from the impact and were unable to get up as they were inflicted with paralysis. The others who were standing scrambled to help out those who couldn't move as Baran let out a vicious roar of rage.

As Kibao shouted out orders to the players who could move, Lind stood by staring at the situation. Their coordination was far off any many players weren't moving in sync. Such was the consequence of mixing two different factions who didn't care much for one another but this was simply going bad. ' _No, we can still do this…! We… We can still do this!'_

"Lind? Lind!? LIND!" The shout from the beater broke his train of thought and made him look back to the swordsman and his lackey running up to him.

"Lind, we have to pull out at this rate!" Leafa said urgently. "If more players get stunned then we're done for. We don't have enough manpower to endure a stun lock from two bosses at once!"

"N-No! Nato's already at half health and we're making progress here." He shouted desperately. It was easy to see the stress of the situation was getting to him. He wasn't a built leader like Diavel was. "If we leave now…"

"Unless another one of us gets stunned, we ain't leaving!"

The gruff yell caught all three pairs of eyes as Kibao focused in on them. "My, our men may not be the top gamers in the world or anything. But they're learning quick enough, and they're doing their damn best to keep up! Plus if we left now then all of our healing items would've gone to waste." He bared his sword and shield as if he was ready to charge in again.

Lind looked to the fellow 'guild leader' and took in his words. Though he didn't say it directly, the motivation of his words steeled his resolve as he took up his sword once more. "... Alright then. Thanks for that, let's go give that heffer what for."

Both brother and sister looked to each other and nodded their heads. They bumped fists for a moment before Kirito ran off to help the others with Nato. Leafa walked next to the two leaders and brandished her blade. "Hope you don't mind me cutting in like this. But working together is the only way we're taking this boss down."

"Hmph, just be sure to keep up girlie." Kibao grinned confidently. "Don't think for a second I'm gonna make getting that Last Hit Bonus easy for you."

"Just be careful when Baran reaches his last HP bar. That's when the real fight begins." Leafa warned as all three of them charged in to support the squad as they recovered.

With that the battle continued on both ends. Kirito's sided along with Agil to bait in the boss to allow the others to swing in on the offensive. While on Leafa's side she worked alongside the leaders to keep the DPS going against Baran. Playing on different sides with different roles gave a bit of hope to both siblings.

The players, true to Kibao's words were truly starting to get a sense of rhythm in their attacks and movements. Timing Sword Skills to the various parries and stun delays that they routined the bosses into through their own patterns.

But this was still a bit suspicious.

Very much so since Agil stopped moving and nudged Kirito. "Hey Kirito, doesn't this seem a bit off to you?"

"... It does but I can't just figure it out."

"I think I got something." Agil's face held a grim smile which put the black swordsman on edge. "Thinkin' about it logically, isn't it a bit weird that the last boss we fought was a 'lord' in Illfang? Why are we suddenly fighting generals, who are ranked lower than lords as far as position tiering goes?"

A rumbling noise caught all the players attentions as in the center of the boss room, round bases began to rise up to form a small tower of sorts. Along with that came the noise of something large falling from a great height as the wind rumbled loud enough to have even Nato and Baran stop their actions.

"Well… I guess we know now."

From the heavens came a behemoth of a minotaur that dwarfed even Nato and Baran in its height. It's striking black mane almost in an attention seeking manner clashed with the bright yellow battle armor that the beast wore alongside a huge double sided battle axe that looked like it could chop a mountain in half. Two long, upwards facing horns reached for the sky along with the golden crown that was adorned on its head. Its name gave true weight to Agil's words as six HP bars appeared next to its name.

Asterios, the Taurus King.

"Shit! It's a pincer attack!" Agil shouted while brandishing his axe. "We gotta get to the others now!" His beginning run was cut short as Kirito yanked him back from doing so. "Dude, the hell!?"

"The boss is still a good distance away from the main party!" He argued to the larger man. "Don't get your priorities mixed up, we gotta kill the other two now!"

Nato was being pushed back heavily by The Legend Braves and the other squads. It was nearing the red zone of its HP bar making the boss more ferocious in its march to crush the players. But the sudden dash in Vorpal Strike by Kirito knocked the boss out of his pattern and surprised the other players. "Quick! We gotta kill them now! Charge it and kill Nato!"

Though surprised at the urgency in the beater's voice, the squads nonetheless got swept up in the frenzy of Kirito's attack and began charging in to smash to boss at every angle possible. Nato being overwhelmed as it was couldn't keep up with the damage being done to it. Just as the overgrown bull hit the red HP portion on its health, a looming shadow cast over Nato and the players around it.

"DODGE!" Kirito's warning came just fast enough for several players who weren't in too deep to dodge the lightning breath that came out of Asterios's mouth to Nato's direction. The now miniboss was immune to the paralysis effect from the breath but those hit were now locked in stun. "Strength players, get the stunned ones out of range! We gotta keep them safe!"

Agil and the others in his squad began to move in while Nato was still recovering from the beatdown it received. The stronger players doubled up on carrying out players two at a time to make sure no one died needlessly.

But while the other squad covered those who were attacking Nato, the swordsman noticed that Asterios began turning to where Baran was.

To where Leafa was fighting.

"Legend Braves! Follow me, we're taking down Baran!" With near demonic speed, Kirito rushed past the pseudo guild who quickly rallied behind him.

"Aye Sir Blackie, let us march forth!" Orlando yelled behind him. He would normally be bothered by such a name but he had more important things to worry about.

Having noticed the new arrival like her brother, Leafa had taken to go on the offensive against Baran like a tour de force for the lead squad. Her parries and Sword Skills allowed Kibao, Lind and a whole host of other players to switch in and deal huge burst damage against the taurus. But so busy as she was, she didn't even notice the shadow looming over her and the party until it was too late.

She turned around to see Asterios leaning its head back, gearing up for another paralysis breath attack against the players fighting its general. There was no way to get out in time for any of them, even if she was the fastest in the squad. She let out a curse just as the king began moving its head forward to spew the breath attack at them.

"LEAFA!"

His shout gave way for a loud banging to the boss room door as it was forced opened roughly. A burst of wind rushed past his face before he even noticed what caused the noise to begin with. But the glimpse of auburn long hair and the flash of a rapier nearly made his heart stop with hope. "Asuna!?"

"Take this!" A flash of blue from her rapier gave way for a hugely damaging Shooting Star skill against Asterios's skull. The sheer force of the impact made the boss clench its jaw shut, cutting off the breath attack from activating. Asuna flipped backwards from the push back of the blow and reared her left foot back. Shocking Kirito and Leafa as her foot began to glow green.

" _That's-'_

' _-A physical skill!'_

In a beautiful yet vicious crescent of green, the lightning quick player unleashed a heavy Moon Kick skill. The blow smashing Asterios's chin up and knocked the boss on its rear with a good chunk of its first HP drain.

Cool as a cat, she landed in a way that grabbed everyone's attention. Especially the boss's as the bull slowly began getting up from the impact of the sneak attack. ' _Alright, I got it's attention but what now? Kirito and Leafa are busy with the other two and they can't spare time to help.'_ Now looking at Asterios proper it was clear to see the huge size of the king could even dwarf a mountain in size. ' _One hit from him and it could take out half by HP without a doubt. And the stun effect on the bull's attack means one hit and I'm dead.'_

"Is she nuts!? She can't take a boss like that by herself!"

"Don't get sidetracked Lind!" Leafa shouted while blocking the force of Baran's hammer. "She's be fine, we have to kill these bosses now!"

The others realizing that helping Asuna now would only divide their already dwindling forces would only serve to doom them. Both Kibao and Lind reluctantly listened to the beater's opportunist sidekick and charged in to help get the weight off of her.

On the other side the others were beginning to have trouble against Nato's renewed vigor and the frenzied attacks that came with it. "Push it back!" Agil groaned while he and other tank players struggled to push back Nato's axe from their shields. Once they finally managed to throw the weapon off them, Kirito and The Legend Braves all converged to assault and blitz the boss down.

Their strenuous efforts didn't go noticed by Asuna who was currently dodging as best she could. Her high speed stat was a huge boon to helping with the dodging of Asterios's wide ranging attacks. ' _Good, if the boss is distracted then it won't shoot its lightning breath at the others. Just a bit longer and Kirito and Leafa will kill the other two…'_ While Asterios was in another bit of stun delay she spared a quick glance to where Kirito was. But in that second when their eyes met, it felt like an eternity between them.

Kirito's frantic look of worry and fear staring right back into her own worried and desperate eyes. His arm trembling with the heart pounding fear for her safety.

' _You idiot! Focus on the boss, not me!'_ Seeing the shadow loom over her once more, Asuna dashed in between Asterios's legs as his axe slammed down against the stone floor. ' _No, I'm not gonna let you worry about me! I can handle myself just as you can with yourself. So keep focus moron, I can handle this boss-'_ While the boss was lifting the axe out the floor she leapt up into the air and prepared a Sword Skill to stab the bull in the back. ' _-all by myself!'_

The attack was about a hair's breath away from connected when she was roughly yanked back by the boss's tail wrapping around her body. Her senses were thrown out of order when she was tossed high into the air and punched down into the floor by the boss's free hand. Skidding on the floor until she reached the middle of the boss room.

Seeing her get hit threw Kirito into a catatonic shock, so distracted by his worry that the wind got knocked completely out of him when Orlando roughly shoved his elbow into his stomach to move him out of the way of Nato's attack range. He struggled to get up as he saw the looks on The Legend Braves faces as they tanked Nato's blows.

"Sir Blackie! Go, she needs you!"

"But-!"

"GO! Do not let a fair maiden throw her life away!"

A thankful look was all he could spare as all efforts focused in on running to his friend. Making sure every ounce of energy went into making it on time to where she laid. ' _I won't let you… I won't let you throw your life away! Not after what you said!'_ Kirito threw all his strength into one great leap towards Asuna just as Asterios lifted its fist again. ' _I won't let you!'_

Even in her stunned state, she felt bewildered at Kirito suddenly leaping in and embracing her as a shield. A shield that Asterios was all too willing to take a crack at with a solid punch to the teen's back. A rough cough rocketed out of his mouth as the two of them slid on the floor until they stopped near a pillar. Looking up, Asuna was horrified to see that Kirito got hit with the paralysis status. Both of their HP bars reaching into the low red zone.

"You idiot… Why did you do that." She asked while moving to look at the person who protected her.

"I… have no idea...:" He admitted. Yet despite that Kirito looked relieved to have saved her from being killed.

Leafa felt like crying out of a myriad of emotions. Fear for her brother and friend, anger at this boss for not wanting to die and sorrow that she couldn't get to them from how far she was. Similarly, The Legend Braves were also feeling such emotions of anguish. So much so that Orlando tried to move in to protect the two as Asterios lifted its head once more for a breath attack. But his advance was cut from one of his friends grabbing him by the arm. "Unhand me!"

"Don't do anything foolish Orlando!" The party member begged as he held firm against his leader's yanks. "It's too late for them!"

"What is wrong with being a fool! It's a knight's duty to fall to protect his allies and princess!" He finally broke through as tears of frustration at his helplessness began to fall from his face. "If we aren't meant to be heroes then what is the point of charging forth into glorious battle for!?"

"Well said, Orlando!"

A sharp sound of cutting air whistled through the boss room as a device went and slashed Asterios in the eyes. The boss screamed in agony as it fell down to the floor.

Kirito looked to Asuna who let out a sigh and shook her head. "Took you long enough."

"Forgive me, but you run way too fast."

Kirito smirked at seeing the chakram return to its owner. The very same owner he gave the weapon to in the first place. "You son of a bitch, Nezha. The two of you are gonna make me look sloppy with how quickly you cleared that quest."

"Nezha!?"

The former blacksmith looked to his leader and friends as they stared in disbelief at seeing him fight. He shook his head and pointed at Nato. "All of you, go forth and take down those two!" He turned around and glared at the main boss who gave the raid party such trouble. "I'll kill this thing myself!"

With a new sense of hope in their chests, the raid party rallied hard to make the final push against the minibosses while another player dragged Asuna and Kirito to safety. "Man, you two sure know how to get into trouble, eh?"

"Argo!?" It sure was a surprise and a half to see the info broker in a boss room of all places. Given that she could hardly fight anything above her weight, a simple attack could spell death for her. "What are you doing here!?"

"Well, Ki-bou I was gonna let Asuna go on ahead and rely the new info we got but it seems like she went balls deep to savin' yer butt." Argo pressed first an antidote potion to both player's mouths to which they happily drank. Then handed them healing potions as a pick me up as they watched Nezha distract the main boss with his chakram.

"The boss is rearing up again!" Lind shouted as he turned to Nezha. "You're our only hope, stop it!"

Being able to play as he once did in other games, being able to fight to the fullest. Nothing more could bring tears of joy down his cheeks as he threw his chakram yet again. "Right!"

Argo whistled as he and the rest of his friends began to handle Asterios. Especially now with the efforts being focused on him with Nato and Baran now dead. It was nice to see someone who was so willing to help take her advice to heart and really use that weapon to its fullest. But even then, The Legend Braves were only holding the line because of their super powered equipment compared to the rest of them.

But such thoughts came to an end when she was suddenly glomped to the floor by a black haired blur. Kirito nearly felt his heart leap out his mouth when he saw Leafa hugging Argo close to her chest yelling out words of thanks for saving the two of them.

"G-Gah! Lemme go, Boobasaurus Rex! You're smotherin' me to death!" The Rat complained. She complained more when Leafa's grip tightened at the new nickname for her busty status.

It brought a smile to his face that she was alright. Knowing her, she probably got the last hit bonus against Baran and rushed her way over here. He looked over to Asuna who immediately looked away with a red face with him doing the same. It was true that he had no idea as to the reason why he suddenly jumped in like that nor for the huge amount of worry he had for such a capable fighter. But it made him smile to see she was alright even if she was fumming in her own thoughts about Kirito's save of her.

"The hell is that creeper grin on yer face for Ki-bou? You're freaking me out!"

Argo's statement was enough for Kirito to get back up on his feet and give a bump to his sister's shoulder. "Ready to get back in there?"

"I am but you better get ready for after all this because I am gonna kick your ass for being so reckless back there." Leafa warned while drawing her sword.

"Yeah, I've just come to expect that at this point."

"Hold on!"

Asuna's shout brought attention back to her, even with hearing Agil's shouts to help now that they were healed up. "You two are trying to steal the show again huh? Partners come rolling in to get the last hit." The accusation wasn't lost on the two of them but they weren't about to defend their skill to pacify Asuna. "Well then… Let's see you two try and get it… When I'm gunning for it too!"

With her lightning speed Asuna rushed past both the siblings who yelled out and followed after, a smile on their faces as they joined the front lines.

With the support of his friends once more, Nezha took his charge seriously as the others protected him. Not out of his burden at not being able to fight but to guard their lifeline in this fight. Just as before they worked together as a team to push the boss back. Even Agil's backing up with his squad's tanking prowess made confidence bubble back up inside him. With this momentum back into full swing, the main forces pushed back Asterios one last time just as the trio team came rushing in with their blades glowing bright.

"Just like last time." Asuna said while throwing off her cloak.

"You got it, try to keep up Leafa."

"Don't worry, we've got this!"

With slash after slash the three of them bombarded the boss with skill after skill to keep him in a delayed lock of being constantly parried and charged against. His fists and axe couldn't keep up from the never ending stream of blows being launched at him. With one final parry at Leafa's hands both Kirito and Asuna jumped in with their weapons set ablaze. A victorious roar ripped out their lungs as they thrust forward to stab the boss through the head and drop its HP down to zero.

A death kneel of a scream gave way to the boss exploding into a million crystalline fragments. It allowed silence to reign through as the raid party realized the boss had been defeated after a huge effort. That's when the screams of cheer and joy came when the same banner as before shined overhead.

 _ **Congratulations!**_

As the rampant cheering went on both Lind and Kibao went over the number of raid members from when they started to when it ended. Both of them were nearly slack

Kirito leaned against one of the pillars in the room as he slumped to the floor. He looked over at Argo. "So you mind filling me in on how the hell Asuna and Nezha were able to clear that quest so fast? Neither of their STR stat could have been as high as mine or Leafa's."

Argo showed Kirito a big smirk in response as she tapped her head. "Lil' Asuna was real clever. She used an ox mob to break the rock for her. You shoulda seen her, going all matador on it, Ki-bou. Once she did that and we found the clue to the boss fight, we rushed here as fast as we could."

' _After we remembered we had to go back and help Nezha clear the quest so he could use the chakrams in the first place.'_ Asuna thought to herself. That was a blunder that had all three of them face palming themselves when they realized it halfway down the mountain.

"The weakness of the boss was its horns. Hit 'em and the big guy stumbles for a bit." Argo explained. "Nezha's chakrams really came in handy for that."

"Kirito! Asuna! Leafa!" Nezha ran over to the three players with a huge smile on his face. "That finish was amazing! You three were great!"

"Thanks, but it's really you who saved the day, Nezha." Asuna said. "Being able to use those chakrams without a test run. It really came through for us with the boss."

Nezha rubbed the back of his head. "Well most of it was the system auto-aiming for me." He looked down at the throwing weapon in his hand. "But still… I finally got to be what I always wanted. A true hero."

"Yup you sure helped out a lot. You deserve a big thanks." Agil said as he walked over with multiple other players. "Unfortunately… that's not all there is to say." Nezha and the others grew tense as Agil's expression became stern. "You know, you were a blacksmith until very recently. And there's a lot of players that coincidentally had a similar experience with you."

"Do you have any idea… how much trouble we faced?" one of the other players asked with a growl. "Since our rare weapons we paid you to upgrade broke to pieces?"

Kirito widened his eyes. ' _Wait… Are all these players victims?'_

"H-Hold on! It's not what you think!" Kirito said as he stepped forward. "I gave him the chakrams to-"

"It's alright Kirito." Nezha said, cutting the raven haired swordsman off. He looked at Agil and the other players he had scammed out of their weapons, and bowed his head. "You're suspicion are correct. I switched out all your weapons for replicas… and took them for myself."

Agil narrowed his brow. "Is there anyway to get them back?"

Nezha shook his head. "No… I sold them. And then… I spent all the col on luxuries and other stuff."

"Why you…" one of the players came at Nezha and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "You son of a bitch! Do you have any idea how hard we worked to upgrade those weapons?! How much it hurt to have those weapons gone?!"

Nezha couldn't look the player in the face. "I…"

"I thought I might not be able to stay on the front lines. But my party… they chipped in the money to help me gather materials. Even though it set them back so much…" He glared at Nezha. "And you have the nerve to spend it all on luxuries?! Not to mention buying your own elite gear?! And then you waltz into the boss raid and act like some kind of hero?! Where do you find the nerve?!"

"... Do whatever you want then." Nezha spoke. "I deserve it. I won't hold it against you. Do whatever you wish. Even…" he gulped as he finished his sentence. "Even if you want to kill me."

The player reached for his weapon, as did a few others that were equally angry. "I have half a mind to do it, you know? To cut you down right here and now."

As Kirito was about to step in, a loud shout was heard. "Halt!" All heads turned to see Orlando and the Legend Braves walk forward. "There is no need to soil thy hands on him. This player… no… This _hero_ …" Orlando said. "Is our companion." Several players widened their eyes as they heard this. Orlando and his party all bowed down as they got on their knees. "He was only doing this upgrading scam on our orders. All our gear that you see here… was created using the weapons and money spent selling them."

Several players began to grow enraged as they heard this. Orlando understood their rage at him and his party and took off his helmet. "If you wish… we will give up this equipment, as well as our col. You may do with them as you wish."

Altogether, the Legend Braves unequipped their fancy gear, going back to basic starter-level equipment. Several players grumbled about the option as they thought it out. Frankly speaking, it wasn't a horrible way to compensate. The Legend Braves would be reduced to practically nothing. Meanwhile the fancy equipment they had would sell for a lot, and would cover almost all the damage costs they had created.

However, one player wasn't so ready to forgive them.

"Do you really think that'll fix things?" Everyone looked over as a hooded player walked up to the Legend Braves. He kicked away one of the expensive pieces of gear. "Maybe that'll help cover the cost of the damage you did." he said. "But what about the players that _died_ as a result of your little scam?"

Everyone in the room widened their eyes as they heard this. Shouts of confusion were heard from around the room.

"Died?!"

"Who died?!"

"You're saying players that got scammed by these guys died?!"

"I know the truth!" he said. He pointed an accusing finger at Nezha. "Tons of players got backstabbed by that blacksmith over there! And one of them had to go out into the fields with cheap store-bought gear! And when he came across a mob he was able to kill before… this time it was HIM who died!" Several gasps came as the hooded player continued. "You can't replace those lives with simple dirty cash, and you know it!" He looked around to all of the players. "I think we all know the only way they can truly pay for their crimes, don't you?"

Kirito, Asuna, and Leafa all widened their eyes as several players began to all have dark thoughts flowing through their mind. It was easy to see where they were going with this.

"It was an indirect PK…"

"They killed that player…"

"They should go apologize to the people they killed…"

Kirito and the others didn't know what to do. Chants of "Kill them" began to float around the room. Players grabbed the Legend Braves including Nezha and dragged them all to the center of the room.

' _No… This'll turn into a public execution at this rate!'_ Kirito thought. ' _If this happens… then PKing will become acceptable in SAO. It'll turn into a game of murder.'_ The thought caused Kirito's eyes to widen as he looked at the hooded player. ' _Is that what he's aiming for? Is he trying to do this on purpose?'_

"EVERYONE STOP!"

The shout from Lind caused everyone to fall silent and turn to him. Lind looked around at the players. "As leader, I will render our judgement! I trust there are no objections?!"

Nobody spoke up. Kibao also shrugged in agreement with it. Lind looked directly at the leader of the Legend Braves. "Orlando. If you are their leader… then judge them with your own blade."

' _In other words, Lind is telling Orlando to kill his own party members.'_ Kirito realized. ' _Is he nuts?!'_ Just as he was about to step in and stop this, he found Asuna and Leafa blocking him off with their arms. "What are you girls-"

"Just shut up and watch, Kirito." Asuna told him in a whisper.

Kirito looked over at Leafa who gave a nod as if to say to trust Asuna. He couldn't understand for the life of him what these girls were thinking.

The Legend Braves all looked at their leader in fear as he picked up his sword. Nezha also couldn't believe what was happening. "Orlando…" But when he looked at Orlando's eyes, he saw not the look of someone who was about to murder his comrades. He saw the caring smile he had always known Orlando to have.

' _No… Orlando, you're not thinking of-'_

With a swift motion, Orlando turned the blade on himself and pierced it into his own body. Several gasps of shock came as Orlando's HP plummeted rapidly.

' _Screw the girls, I can't let this happen.'_ Kirito thought. Just as he was about to charge in and stop this suicide, Lind's blade lit up and swatted the sword away, stopping the decrease in Orlando's HP.

"That's enough." Lind said with a grin. "I accept your sincerity."

The Legend Braves gathered around Orlando, checking on their leader and giving him a potion to recover his health. The hooded player that had called out the Legend Braves stared at the scene in disbelief. "H-Hey, what're you doing?! Do you really think it's ok for them to live after those players died?!"

"What are you talking about?" Lind said as he flipped his hair in an overly dramatic fashion. "Orlando, the leader of the scam artists, has just died before our eyes. Now he is reborn, as a new man." He looked down at Orlando and his teammates. "And now they can start over, and work their way to the front lines. We won't wait for you though, but the front lines could always use some brave heroes."

Everyone stared in silence up until that point. But at hearing Lind's words, nearly every player in the boss room burst out laughing. Everyone seemed to be clutching their sides except for Kirito who seemed to be unable to comprehend what was going on.

There was one other besides Kirito who was confused at what was going on. The hooded player that had suggested the PKing in the first place. "Wh-What are you all laughing about?"

"Hahaha, come on man didn't you just hear all that? How can you not laugh?" Kibao laughed as he threw an arm around the player.

"H-Huh?"

"But enough about that" Kibao said. His tone was suddenly serious as his arm tightened on the hooded player. "Say pal… Who exactly was it that got his weapon stolen and died? Name? Party? He must have been aiming for the front lines, so some us us probably heard of him."

A cold sweat went down the back of the player's back. "I… I uh… heard it from someone."

"Psh, that's it?! You were making all those accusations based on a rumor?!" Kibao smirked as he delivered a bonk to the hooded player's head.

The player kneeled on the ground as others laughed at him. It was clear that things were not going to go as he planned.

"Well, in any case…" Argo said. "I'll make sure to personally investigate all of it. The player's name. Cause of death. And any relation to the scam." she smirked at the hooded player. "Assuming they exist at all of course."

"Grrr…" With his plot obviously a failure, the player took off running out of the room. Players laughed at him as he ran, leaving them behind.

"Yo, beater!" Hearing his title called caused Kirito to turn to Lind. "You and your two girls go activate the teleport monument on the next floor. You're used to it, aren't you?"

Kirito let out a sigh. "Yeah, yeah. I'll get right on it." He turned to the stairs and waved to Leafa and Asuna. "Let's go."

Asuna and Leafa followed after the raven haired swordsman as they journeyed together to the next floor. It was a long staircase, much like the last one. It wasn't long before they were well out of earshot from the others.

"Alright spill it. You two knew something, didn't you?" Kirito asked. "That went way more smoothly than it should have." The giggles from Asuna and Leafa told him he was right, and it only served to irritate him further.

"Well… we MIGHT have had a little plan we set up with Argo." Asuna said.

"And she MAY have let Lind and Kibao know ahead of time, who spread the word to the rest of the main raid team." Leafa added.

"So wait, all that was staged?!" Kirito exclaimed as he turned around. "You two set all this up to get the Legend Braves to confess?!"

"See? And you said he wouldn't get it?" Leafa giggled as she looked at Asuna.

"Well he is a bit of a dunce sometimes." Asuna smirked.

Kirito couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Let me get this straight. You trusted Kibao and Lind with this information but not me?!"

"Well we needed to make sure it was believable." Asuna shrugged. "And frankly, we weren't sure you'd be able to put on a convincing performance."

That insult hurt more than all of the damage Kirito had taken in his fights since the start of SAO put together. He turned around and grumbled. "You two suck."

"Aww… is someone mad that we didn't trust him?" Leafa giggled.

Kirito spared a small glance at the two. "So what about the hooded guy? The one who was trying to get the Legend Braves PKed?"

"That was admittedly not part of the plan." Asuna admitted. "But at least it all worked out in the end."

Kirito turned back around as they headed towards the door. "I guess it did."

"Now that I think about it…" Asuna said as her eyes narrowed. "The Last Attack Bonus didn't show up for me. What about you, Leafa?"

The black haired girl shook her head. "Nope, me neither." Collectively, the two of them glared at Kirito. "Kirito…"

"H-Hey, it was pure chance right? It's not my fault." Kirito shrugged.

"Except you were behind us in that final attack." Asuna said. "You made us go in first on purpose, didn't you?"

Kirito simply whistled innocently, not daring to look back at the two girls. "H-Hey, isn't that the door to the next floor?! Let's go check it out!"

"Kirito!"

"Get back here!"

Kirito ran as fast as his AGI stat would allow him. Asterios be damned, it was the two girls behind him that were the real threat to his life.

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 **A/N: Ah Kirito, skilled a player you might be. But hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Anyways that wraps up floor 2 which now allows me to address something for the future regarding the relation to this fic and Progressive. While it might borrow from both that and the anime, I do want to take on more original story ideas and arcs for the Aincrad saga. As such, I will not be doing Floor 3 and the Dark Elf War arc due to as of the posting of this chapter, the arc not being complete in the manga. And from what I've read it would take at least 6 chapters of this to even cover that arc and I don't want to drag my feet on it.**

 **That being said though I will still acknowledge past events that happen on floors below even if I end up skipping a few to progress the journey. I hope you all understand my reason for doing this, I simply want to make sure there is a smooth progression of story while not dragging my feet anywhere along the way. So with that being said, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and drop a review if you want!**

 **Have a good one everybody!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Okay I just wanted to say, I'm very sorry about the sudden hiatus from new chapters. In addition to some personal stuff going on that hindered my motivation and added to the fact that I've been helping out my friend TheSib with our collab fics, I've been kind of burnt out on my motivation for solo writing. But with SAO 3 and RWBY Vol 6 now airing along with a bunch of other seasonal gems that have inspired me, I'm back in action! Expect an update for Grimmborn to be coming soonish for all my RWBY fans reading this. Anyways I hope you all enjoy and forgive me for my absence.**

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The waterway lay out of Floor 4 was a welcome and open contrast to the restrictive woods of the floor below. It allowed more freedom of movement with a visible amount of area viewable to watch out for enemy mobs. And the open area meant less sneak attacks from the enemies that didn't give a queue for their attacks. This was now becoming a bit more commonplace with certain enemy types now beginning to attack unprovoked which was a rarity on the past three floors.

These enemies included armored crabs by the lakeside and mudskippers that felt courageous enough to start a fight with larger creatures. Of course, any competently leveled player should have no problem in dealing with these mobs even if they got the jump in.

"Agh! Help me!"

That is to say, unless you decided to aggro too many at one time and ended up surrounded.

Both Kirito and Leafa looked on in amusement, and at the ready to intervene if need be, at the Holy Dragon Alliance member who got too greedy for his own good. The knowledge of crabs dropping great valued armor enhancing drops got spread around and caused a rain of eager players. As such, the lakebed was now a cesspool of players either trying to make a quick stack of col or upgrade their own armor.

"Wanna bet dinner that he gets disarmed by a crab?" Kirito wagered.

Leafa shook his hand while keeping her eyes glued to the scene. "You're on. If he manages to run away then you also treat for dessert."

"You and your greedy stomach."

"Hey." Both turned to see Asuna looking none too amused at their leisuring at the expense of another player. "You shouldn't be betting on the wellbeing of another player. What would others think of you?"

Both siblings looked to each other and shrugged to the rapier user. Much to her annoyance at their dismissal. "I do wonder how low the sterling reputation of the Beater and his Opportunist Lackey can be dragged down to."

"Honestly, I think helping him would be even worse." Leafa commented. "People would think we're just sitting here griefing players of their EXP by waiting here."

Asuna honestly wondered why she dealt with the pair's smarmy attitude sometimes. These two could go from a tour de force in clearing the floor to a duo of bums sitting by doing nothing. She could somewhat understand their casual nature given that the three of them have hit the current floor roadblock for the Dark Elf War quest that seemed to spam multiple floors. Not to mention their levels being pretty high for the area given that this was one of the beginning areas fresh out of the floor stairway. But this was on another level for just being plain rude.

As she was about to open her mouth to scold the two again, both of them jumped into action once the struggling player got disarmed by one of the crab mobs. "Ha! You owe me Leafa!"

The younger sister growled and muttered something under her breath as they both moved in to save the helpless fool.

Asuna stood by on the hilltop watching the two of them take down the crabs at such quick speeds. Once they hit the sand the two diverged to handle both sides the player was surrounded in, cutting their swords through the shells and shattering them into pieces. The mobs began to get more organized to account for the interlopers and focused their attention to the black haired duo. Leafa chunked her sword into the head of one mob but the delay of pulling it out gave another the opportunity to take a lunge at her.

However she didn't even flinch at the leap as Kirito slid past an attacking crab and grabbed a fist full of rocky gravel and tightened his fist in a sword skill. The harsh lob from the violet colored stones pelted the airborne crab out the sky and threw it to the ground helpless. Following up from her partner, Leafa tore through the crab with ease and ran to Kirito's side to finish off the remainders who began to target the other player.

"Oh no you don't!" Leafa yelled. Wrapping her sword in a green light, her push off the ground barreled her to the monster trying to pick on the poor soul and tore through its skull. The other player yelped in fear seeing the blade tear through the twitching crab before it shattered into fragments.

Ignoring the gape from their saved citizen, Kirito and Leafa fistbumped each other while looking through their inventory. "How many did you get from this?"

"Only two. What about you?"

"Not much better. Only one, and the small variant no less." The male rolled his eyes at his sister's snickering and poked her on the nose. "Don't forget you're treating when we get back to Rovia."

Leafa mumbled an agreement softly before her attention was focused back on the person they just saved. "Hey, you alright?"

"I'd be better if I didn't have to be saved by Beater trash and his little backup dancer." He muttered vehemently while brushing himself off. "Is stealing floor boss kills not enough for you two or something?"

"Tough talk from a guy who's above leveled of the mobs here but got surrounded like an idiot." She countered with amusement in her voice. "Maybe if you didn't get so greedy then this situation wouldn't have come back to bite you."

The other player moved his hand to attack in retaliation for his wounded pride. The motion of his movement was more than enough for Leafa to move her hand forward to catch the offending limb before it could make contact with her. Despite her appearance, her strength stat in comparison to the other player ensured he wouldn't be moving that arm until she decided to let go. "Don't even think about moving that other arm of yours. You know what attacking another player outside of a safe zone means for you, right?"

It was practically an unspoken rule that other players should never attack each other outside of dueling or sparring in town. If a player were to reduce another player's HP by any amount outside of those conditions, it would turn their icon cursor orange. The cursor color was a huge factor to interactions with NPCs and towns and what consequences could arise of being a color other than green. Orange means the person either committed a crime or attacked another player which would cause many NPCs to either shoo the offender out of town or be denied services that most need to survive in Aincrad.

Red icons were only help by the truly worst scum of all in Aincrad, be they monster or human. A player killer.

This guy didn't look like he had the brass to be the latter, but his wounded pride would for sure make him act out to become the former. But the Kirigayas didn't want to have to deal with the problems that would ensue from being a factor of the situation so a push would be enough to make him leave.

Leafa did just that to the guild member who stumbled back a bit. He gave one last contemptible look to the pair before walking off to pick up his sword. He moved away from the lakebed and grumbled harshly past Asuna who looked as annoyed as the leaving player.

She marched towards the two who were verbally patting each other on the back and pulled both of them by the ears. Hearing their annoyed cries was a bit of relief from dealing with their antics but not enough to completely forgive them. "This is why the two of you have such a bad reputation. Can't either of you be more considerate towards others or did Kirito's negative influence turn you rotten, Leafa?"

"Hey, I take offense to that!" Kirito complained as he managed to free himself from the woman's grip, as did his sister. "Why should I bother making friends with a bunch of overeager glory seekers? If I go and buddy up to the big guilds they'll only either use me and Leafa or drive me away for being 'trash'."

Leafa nodded in agreement to the sentiment. "I always hate having to carry. Especially when others getting lazy could mean death here. At the end of the day, this is still a death game that takes no prisoners."

"I understand but at least don't go around taunting those who you 'help'. You'll only end up alone with no one to watch out for you."

This advice made Kirito want to sigh. Not out of rudeness but of weariness from hearing the same point again and again. Much as he liked Klein, his offers to join him and 'Fuurinkaazan' along with Leafa grew tired. A crowd was something that neither sibling had experience in or any pleasure in being in, Asuna being a sole exception thus far. But even then, there was the old saying of three's company and her near insistence on keeping near was interesting to say the least. More on Leafa's end as it meant another set of eyes to watch her idiot brother and having another girl to talk to. For Kirito though he would rather some space to himself. A guy needs some time to himself too after all, not that Leafa was willing to give it.

"The concern is noted Asuna but it's fine. Even if everyone in this world hates me, as long as I have Leafa to watch my back then it's enough. I wouldn't need anyone else." Kirito answered.

"Not even me?"

That was a loaded question that neither player felt comfortable answering. Asuna was a rare breed of player that both of them respected, even if she was a bit overbearing. She was skilled, strong yet not cocky or self important. Almost 'big sister' like in her actions to defend others and fight for herself and a good friend that made their core.

To lose that…

"Alright you win Asuna." Leafa relented for the both of them. Her brother didn't look pleased to be answered for but kept his mouth closed. "We'll try and play nice but don't expect us to keep our mouths closed whenever someone tries something. In the end, we're still the Beater and his sidekick in the eyes of most of Aincrad."

Asuna sighed. This was probably as best as she was going to get from these two stubborn mules. "I'll see you two around in Rovia. Don't go around making messes for me to clean up."

"Yes, yes, we'll behave. But only if you treat me to a blacksmith upgrad- guck!" Kirito cradled his head in pain as he was tripped up by Asuna for his snide comment. "Rude!"

"Look who's talking." Helping her brother up from the rocky bed, Leafa waved off Asuna as she made her way back to town. "You know she means well right?"

The black swordsman sighed, brushing off the dirt from his coat. "I know but she's really the only outlier. Other than that there's not much else other than Klein and even he pushes it sometimes."

"What about Argo, you two seem to hit it off pretty good when she's around."

He knew where she was going with this. Better to nip it in the bud sooner than later. "Leafa, for the last time she's nothing more than a business partner. You just don't like me hanging around her because she antagonizes you the most."

"She's gonna… get what's coming to her, that's what she's gonna get…"

"Leafa."

"Geez, alright I get it! That doesn't mean I have to tolerate that rat."

Kirito rolled his eyes as he started to move forward. "Knowing her, she'd probably take that as a compliment. Let's get out of here before the next wave of eager farmers show up to abuse the mobs."

* * *

The twilight of evening began to paint the sky a light hue of crimson after Kirito and Leafa finished their dinners. At the sister's treat of course. The swordsman wouldn't let his younger sister out of their deal no matter how much she tried to weasel out. With some light banter and shoves, they found themselves back at their room at the inn with a familiar, yet infuriating guest laying on Leafa's bed.

"Why hello there Ki-bou and Sweater Stretcher!" Argo said in a semi-taunting gesture as she spread herself even further into Leafa's bed. It had the intended effect of causing the black haired girl to puff up in rage. "How's my favorite duo doing?"

"About ready to rip your head off!" Leafa unsheathed her sword and took a swing at the info broker. Being the quick little rodent she was, Argo managed to scamper away from the attack and slipped behind Kirito.

"Oh no, Ki-bou. Tell that scary sister of yours to put her sword away. Or else I just might have to hold you close for protection." Her little statement was punctuated by wrapping her arms around Kirito's chest and holding him close. Snickering all the while at the tension being formed.

"Oi! Watch where you're grabbing! Get off me Argo, this isn't funny!"

"To you maybe~"

"AGH! Forget this, you two flirt all you want! I'm gonna go out and farm some more!" Leafa shoved both of them aside and stomped her way downstairs. Clearly in a rotten mood with Argo's antics.

Finally managing to push the info broker off, Kirito set the girl with a hard glare. "Will you stop that? I'm kind of getting tired of you teasing her like this."

"Aww but that's no fun. She's such an easy target so how can I resist?"

He sighed, knowing full well this wasn't going to stop soon. He just had to teach his sister later on about emotional self control when it came to Argo's teasing. Lord knows that it took forever to do that when they first met during the beta. "Seriously, why are you here?"

Materializing a notepad from her inventory, Argo flipped around until she found a particular page. "Well since we've past floor 3 I've been noticing some key differences from the beta that might have an effect on the state of affairs."

"Such as?"

"Well for one, I think we've noticed the sudden value in mob drops recently. As well as the sudden aggressive behavior that they seem to have."

That was a rather unique disposition compared to the beta of SAO. It wasn't until floor 10 where monsters and the like started attacking unprovoked. To add to that, they were usually big monster types like goblins and skeletons that began seeking enmity. Not crabs or local wildlife. "That does raise concern but most players on the front lines don't really bat an eyelash to it. After the whole sneak attack thing some of the spiders and treants did the floor prior."

"Which is also strange considering sneak attacks weren't a thing in the beta either." Argo went on while flipping through her notes. "That and a few new quests have shown up that weren't there before."

That got Kirito's attention. Unknown quests could be problematic if not taken into proper care to map it out. "Anything dangerous?"

The info broker shook her head which gave a soft bit of relief to the front liner. "Not anything yet but there's the other problem. For you front liners this stuff might not be dangerous but for someone like me... "

"Argo?"

She sighed with a melancholy of self pity. Kirito couldn't be sure if she exaggerated it or not. "I'm gonna keep it real with you Ki-bou, it's getting harder for me to keep info up on these quest that have monsters in them. So I think you know what I'm getting at here."

"You seriously expect me to be your personal bodyguard?" The gall of this girl. To be so pushy and still ask for favors. "You've got to be joking."

"Ki-bou, I might mess with you and ol' Knockers a bunch but info is my livelihood. What good is an info broker that can't properly track the flow of fresh news. Plus who knows? Maybe this rat might slip out a detail or two about the hottest news to 'ya."

' _I swear this girl is going to be the death of me.'_ The bribe alone was enough for Kirito to consider this deal. Fresh information could be invaluable in the long run. But if he was going to do this, there was something else that had to be done. "Fine, I just might help you but under one condition."

"Oho? What does Ki-bou want? A kiss maybe?"

Her Cheshire grin almost made him want to throw her out the room but he managed to keep a still face at her tease. "You have to stop teasing Leafa so much. She's gotten really frustrated at both you and me for 'protecting' you."

"Ouch, that's a hard bargain right there." Argo placed a finger under her chin in thought. "I like riling her up a bit too much to want to give it up. Hmm…" The deadpanned expression from her 'favorite' customer made her finally give a nod of approval. "Fine, bring her over here so we can make up. I'll be waiting right here."

She made a move to jump back onto the bed but was quickly intercepted by yanking at her ear. "Oh no you don't! If you're gonna request me for help, you're gonna be the one to apologize!"

"Ouch! Hey that wasn't part of the deal!"

"It was a compound deal that I just added. Now come on!"

Another yank made girl hiss in discomfort as Kirito pulled the two of them outside the door. While he ignored the looks given to him on the streets as a result of Argo's ranting and raving, he made note to change the room settings as to avoid this problem in the future.

* * *

As the artificial sun began to sink into the depths of the horizon, the swishing of a blade and the shattering of enemies could be seen amistad the twilight. The lakebed was still populated by players who were looking into the material grind. Rotating groups of three of more was a common sight.

But most were watching in curiosity at the opportunist Leafa making solo rounds against a side spawning mob. Her stance held up its guard as crab after crab came after her. Their numbers were great but her skill outweighed their advantage as she cut through them left and right.

' _From the right.'_ Twisting her sword after the end lag of her last skill expired, she parried the big claw from the mob and chopped into the head of it. She cleanly pulled out the weapon as the HP bar fell to zero and got back into stance. ' _From the left.'_ She leapt back to dodge a lunging blow from another big clawed crab and moved to slice off the right side legs from it.

Her swings and strikes began to feel like a flowing stream of attack to attack. One thing that she was still lacking in comparison to her brother was field awareness. Often she would find herself surprised by a side mob and either get sidewinded or saved by Kirito. But despite all his hounding, at the end of the day she knew that there was no more room for error.

' _One mistake here could mean death. A fatal error will cost a life regardless of it being myself or someone else.'_ Leafa thought while moving through the mobs of attacking crabs. ' _I have to keep up with him and Asuna. I can't let either of them carry me or my mistakes.'_ She rounded the trail to a small cliff near the lakebed that they wouldn't jump from. She backed them into a corner and ran them through with her sword skill. The blade in her hands glowing in a purple arc as they were ripped in half into a mass of shattered pixels. The black haired girl breathed a sigh of relief as she sheathed her weapon.

Looking to where she was, her routing trip left her a bit on the further end of the lakebed from town. In her focused haze Leafa didn't realize how for she strayed from the beaten path once she finished. She kept close to the riverside as she began her walk to where the other players were around. With her experiences on the floor below, it was never a safe bet to stay close to the trees without a party to watch all sides.

Leafa ignored the looks she was receiving while walking back to the grassy knoll that connected to the lakebed path leading to town. She didn't care much for the stares but the possibility of her creating a show with her slight rage filled kiting. She just had to avoid eye contact and the path to town should be clear.

"Oi! You, girl!"

' _So much for a nice trip back to the inn.'_ Piling on new stress after having worked out the previous weight was not something that put Leafa in the best place mentally. Seeing a pair of armored guys block her path to town made her eye twitch. "What do you want?"

The one wearing a full helmet stepped forward, looking down at her from his height. "That was quite the show you put on. Stealing away a bunch of kills for those who were waiting." Moving into her personal space, the guy placed a tight hand on her shoulder. Whether it was a form of intimidation or just trying to move in on her, she was not enthused about the contact.

"I don't want any trouble." She moved to remove the hand from her shoulder but the grip only tightened. "I was just dealing with some stress and you're making it worse."

"Stress ain't an excuse from kill stealing a huge wave of mobs." The other said as he approached. "We already have a proper schedule for planning our proper rotations and turns for players to get their fair share. You think you're better than everyone else who were waiting their turns?"

The small crowd of around sixteen players began to boo at Leafa for her impulsive action. An annoyance that only continued to irk the girl as the jeering continued. "I don't care. Just get out of my way so I can go relax. I don't want to waste any time with this."

She stood unfazed at the way the two armored players tried to big themselves up. Their levels were certainly below her own by a good seven so their threatening gestures didn't flinch her at all. She grabbed the hand that was tightening on her shoulder and slowly moved it off of her. She didn't let go of the arm as she stared into the face of the player. "For the last time, move. I'm not in the mood for any of this."

"You don't get to look down on this situation just because you're eating the leftovers of that Beater trash. A bitch like you needs to run along with your owner and stay out of decent players business." He barked at her.

That wasn't something she was going to let slide. The moment he mentioned Kirito was the point she twisted his arm with her higher Strength stat and shoved his elbow into his own stomach. Her icon cursor stayed green as she wasn't the one to directly hurt him with physical contact. A scummy work around, but one that she used to prove a point to these players. "I was trying to be nice about this but the second you made that comment is when you pushed too far." She watched the player recover his sense of balance from the work around jab. He stood tall once more and glared at her hard. "For the last time, I just want to get back to town for some rest. You can have your schedule back to normal once I leave."

The other player pulled out his sword at her comment and pointed it at her. "Don't you dare talk down to us like you're better! A cheating duo like yourselves should just jump off the edge of the world and make things more pleasant for everyone else!"

Having had enough of their bluster Leafa decided to unsheath her own sword and knock the blade out of the player's hand. The look on her face was beyond irritated and looked ready to teach these two a lesson in manners. "You think that us dying would solve all your problems? The front lines would be a hellhole without him and I watching over you flailing morons. Quit thinking that every problem is caused by one person because that's only going to drag the efforts to escape down."

"Bitch! You won't get away with that!"

The other player who she struck back materialized a new sword from his inventory and charged in at the beater sidekick. Leafa grit her teeth and pulled her blade back. If she attacked him outside of a duel, nothing but headaches would result of it. She moved back to dodge to swings that was coming from him, striking when he pushed in a bit too deep to disarm him. However he seemed to have learned from the first experience and held sword with two hands to prevent losing another weapon.

The swordswoman held her ground with her stance and focused on deflecting the blows from the two handed swings. It was hard for her to defend herself in such a way that prevented her from attacking her unofficial opponent. Putting strength into her next attack Leafa managed to disarm the player after he missed with his last swing. Kicking the weapon near the water she pointed her sword at him to prevent from getting up and trying again.

"Just walk away. I'm in no mood to continue this pointless fight." Her warning was clear as could be. Leafa was not afraid to shove back if it came to it.

Just as the fallen player was about to get up, a roaring yell came barreling towards the two. Leafa looked up in shock to see the other player running at her with a sword skill attack pointed right at her. The one who was on the ground rolled away from his partner's path just as he use the Rage Spike.

Try as she did to move and dodge the attack, she was tripped up by the other one and was left falling as the sword skill connected. Despite the difference in level, the direct hit to her stomach took out a big piece of her HP. Falling to around 80% with the single hit.

Sliding back from the impact of the hit Leafa fell on her backside once her ankle hit a rock that tripped her up. The duo both looked at her and laughed at her stumble, not bothering to notice the attack had his cursor change to orange. "Serves trash like you right! That should learn ya good!"

The swordswoman growled at the taunting from her aggressors as she got up from the ground. Glancing quickly to her HP bar she had indeed been hit hard and now was being mocked in front of the other players who were just sitting there watching this happen. Her vision grew red as all her frustration and anger had finally reached a boiling over point.

 _She had enough of these people._

Leafa picked up both herself and her sword, slowly making her way to the two players.

 _Enough putting up with the abuse, insults and disrespect._

The two noticed her approach and both picked up their weapons. Eager to continue teaching the girl a lesson that she was too stubborn to take in.

 _She just wanted to be left alone._

Both of them charged in with swords raised high to knock her back again.

 _But these people insisted on dragging not only her, but her brother through the mud because of their reputation._

However, as they laid eyes on her face they saw an inferno of emotions. The only one registering in their own minds is anger.

 _She had enough for today, and they would know it._

The hesitation brought a mistake in the strikes slowing down, allowing Leafa to parry the both of them at once. The two stuck in stun delay, they could only watch in fear as Leafa's sword began to glow a vibrant green color as she tore through their armor with a Vertical Arc.

"LEAFA!"

Her senses returned hearing Kirito call out to her right after the blow had been dealt. Both players laid flat on their backs, chest plates shattered from the attack and shivering in fear. She didn't even have to turn around to know what was waiting for her. Her brother stopped after she had put away her weapon and moved to face him and the tagalong in Argo.

Though nothing physically changed about Leafa, the orange cursor hovering over her name was all telling at what she had done.

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 **A/N: And that is that everyone! Leafa's in quite the situation now, isn't she? How is she gonna get herself out of this mess? Well you're just gonna have to find out next time! Hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly three months to come out lol (God I hope not.) Anyways, thanks for reading and drop a review if you liked it. See you next time everyone!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys! Back again with another chapter. Things have been hectic for me recently with being laid off and getting a new job but I'm managing fine and are pressing on just fine. But now we return to Leafa's dilemma of her status. Enjoy the chapter everyone!**

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"Well this is a fine mess we've gotten into, isn't it Leafa?"

The tone that her brother carried was one of both exasperation and annoyance. Not squarely directed at her but to all the circumstances that led up to this situation. Kirito, Argo and Leafa all were standing off to an area covered with trees near the town. It was close enough in proximity to the town where they could hop into the safety zone if something tried to attack them. But entering the town right now possibly wouldn't be the best idea.

The marker above Leafa's head was orange, a signifier that a player committed a wrongdoing in the eyes of the world. This icon could range from mildly annoying to detrimental to the player's situation as NPC's would often turn away services or try and chase them out of town. Until it wore off, there would be a small period where Leafa would not be welcome in the safety of a town.

The black swordsman sighed and rubbed his chin in thought. "Even though this situation is rough, we should be grateful that this is a first time offense. That orange color should only last a few hours at most."

"Those bastards…" Leafa groaned as she slumped against the stonewall of the town border. Even though it was the virtual world, she could feel a migraine coming in. "Ganging up on me and baiting me into hitting one of them."

"Well at least this is only your first strike." Argo chimed in as she sat next to the girl. "Most other RPG's encourage this sort of behavior since death doesn't have as steep of a consequence. In Aincrad, there's a five step system in regards to committing a crime. The first three infractions lands you with an orange cursor for a few hours then it'll go back to green. The fourth makes it permanent until you complete a quest. But after that, forget it. No quest'll get you back to green, you're stuck as an orange player forever."

Leafa scooted away from the small girl with a frown etched into her face. "Maybe I wouldn't have to worry about that if you hadn't barged into our home for like the eighth time."

"Leafa, stop that." Kirito said while raising a hand. "True, Argo needs to learn to mind her own space and others, she is sorry that she drove you off." Said girl looked away from the taller girl with an embarrassed look but nodded her head nonetheless. "I'm more concerned about how you even got that orange marker if they harassed you first."

"It's something that scummy players have been doing recently." Argo piped up. The siblings focused attention on her as she brought out her handy dandy fieldbook. "It's something I've seen some shady characters do. They pair up in duos and attack innocent players in a manner similar to how one would handle mobs." A serious look came onto her face as she went into more detail. "Think of it like performing a Switch during combat. The other lays back until the aggro is focused on another player and then the 'victim' jumps in to take the hit after the system believes that they are no longer in combat, ergo making the defender the 'bad guy'."

Kirito let out an annoyed sigh at this new information. To think that some players would sink so low. "Bad enough everyone already hates us for being who we are. But for those Army guys to use such a scummy tactic to get one over on us is just terrible."

"I guess now we have to be more careful in dealing with other players." Leafa said as she stood up proper from the wall. "These people are so petty that they'd jeopardize front line progression by handicapping other players."

"Well we should be glad then you only got penalized for a few hours." Argo said with a shrug. "I mean, sure no warm bed tonight but it's not like any of us need sleep anyways. It's just a mental thing really."

"We might not be able to overwork our bodies but our minds would suffer if we just kept on going without rest." Kirito argued. "Resting the mind is the most important thing to keep us and our facilities in the green."

Leafa let out a groaning whimper at the thought of not being able to get proper sleep tonight. After slashing through mobs and dealing with jerks all day, she just wanted to do is take a hot shower and flop onto her bed. "Guess now is a good time as ever to give the sleeping bag a try." Her brother's annoying insistence seemed to work out for the best. Outdoor tools were something that wasn't really in high value as most large groups traveled until they hit a new or old town.

Just as the younger sister materialized the sleeping bag, a fast stomping noise caught everyone's attention. All three players reached for their weapons just in case it was a monster charging in at them. But a flash of auburn hair that moved past the two girls made it clear who it was, especially when an open palm slapped the only male in the face.

"You idiot!"

"Gahhh! What is wrong with you, Asuna!?" Kirito yelled while holding his cheek. "That was uncalled for!"

"What's this I heard about Leafa attacking some Army member and going orange? I heard she stormed off from town and caused a scene!"

"Who told you that!?" It didn't take a millisecond to realize that the group was a member short. All heads turned around to see Argo turn the corner as she ran frantically, having been caught in her little game.

Leafa ran to the corner and shouted at the retreating half pint. "You little brat! You're more of a snake than a rat! I'll get you back for this!" She tried to throw a rock at Argo but she managed to sharply turn into the gate of the town before it could hit her.

Asuna sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose. Argo's loose lips would sink ships one day. "Well it looks like she's going to be hiding out from you two for a bit. Now, why don't you both fill me in on the whole situation?"

Both siblings filled in Asuna on the situation for their sides of the story. Having full context, the other girl gave a soft apology for hitting Kirito like that to which he forgave her after a flick to the head. "So what is the plan for you two?"

"Well we were going to camp it out." Leafa said while bringing her sleeping bag into view. "We would take turns keeping watch for monsters or other players until my time ran out."

"This isn't your problem Asuna. We can take care of it and be back in the frontlines by morning." Kirito affirmed. "Thanks for checking up on us though."

As the two were about to set up their sleeping situation for the night, Asuna stepped forward a bit hesitant. "Umm… Actually, if you two don't mind I could keep Leafa company." When given looks of confusion between the two Asuna further elaborated. "I-I mean, Leafa here is one of the minority of girls playing the game and not many of them are on the front lines trying to clear the game. I'd like to get to know her better if that's alright with the two of you."

"Excuse us for a moment." The auburn haired girl fidgeted slightly as the two went a bit deeper into the woods, being sure to stick to the town wall. "I think you should do it."

"What? Why?"

Her brother sighed a bit and patted her on the head. "It wouldn't do you so bad if you got to know more girls. Have some other people to talk to other than me."

Leafa squirmed out from under the affectionate touch and pouted at him. "Big talk from a guy who doesn't talk to anyone else."

"I have Argo."

"And how is Argo sitting right now in terms of relations?"

That got Kirito to hold his tongue for a moment. Mentally cursing his sister's sharp mind, he gave a bit of a forced smile. "Tell you what. You go and stay with Asuna for the night… and I'll reach out to Klein sometime soon."

"No, not sometime soon. Very soon." She said firmly. "If you're gonna put me into a situation of interaction without you, AGAIN might I add, it's only fair for you to do the same thing." Looking to the ground, Leafa let out a sigh. "... We've only ever had each other and never needed anyone else. I don't like the idea about putting myself out there considering…"

Kirito interrupted his sister by pulling her into a comforting hug. She hesitated for a moment before bringing her arms around him. "Hey, I know… I understand where you're coming from but Asuna was the one who wants to do this the most. She's different than the people at school and most others we know. I think we can trust her, she seems genuine enough as does Klein." He let go of Leafa and shook his head while smiling. "I think it might be best for us to make at least a few friends here. Even if we are the Beater and his Opportunist."

Letting out a small laugh at that last part, the younger sister nodded her head. "I guess you have a point. Alright, I'll hang out with her for the night. Be sure not to cause any trouble while I'm gone."

"I think you got into enough trouble for the both of us already, sis." A swift smack to the shoulder made the swordsman recoil slightly. "Kidding, kidding! Geez, you girls and your physical abuse."

Asuna looked up to see both of them returning with an approving look upon their faces. Kirito threw his sleeping bag towards her, clumsily catching the item thrown at her. "Alright, you two have fun with your sleepover. Don't stay up too late, alright?"

"See you tomorrow, kick Argo's butt for me if you see her!" Leafa called after him as he waved in confirmation of her wishes. As he turned the corner into the town, the two girls began to set up their sleeping situation. Having both their bags next to each other.

Silence prevailed for a while between the two. Neither of them really having a way to broach a conversation subject. Asuna's eyes looked around desperate for a point to talk to until her eyes fell onto Leafa's sword. "S-So, uh…"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Ever since the first floor boss fight, I've noticed that you and Kirito fight differently than other players." Asuna started after finally catching the other girl's ear. "H-Have you played other games before SAO?"

Leafa brought a hand to her chin as she recalled the games she and her brother played. "... I guess so but not to the extent of what SAO is. Kirito was the only one between the two of us to get into the beta of the game and play it extensively. I was lucky enough to even get a NerveGear considering…! A-Ah!" The girl soon shut her mouth upon realizing that she spoke a bit too much.

Asuna picked up on her hesitation quickly, shaking her hands in front of her to ease Leafa's worries. "O-Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry about the real world!"

For all players it was considered an unwritten rule that discussions of IRL or real world life were taboo. If and hopefully when everyone got out of this game, any information could be used for a numerous amount of purposes be they shady or not. Even if was something as simple as a username from another game or website.

The black haired girl realized how her abrupt stop came off and shook her own head to ease down Asuna. "N-No it's fine! It's just… ah…" She groaned into her hands while slumping into her sleeping bag. "I'm no good at this…"

"Leafa?"

She watched as the girl sunk deeper into her sleeping bag before she opened her mouth again. "I'm sorry Asuna, this isn't fair to you. I've… just never been good at talking with other girls like this."

"Leafa, you don't have to tell me about this stuff if it makes you uncomfortable."

' _She's different than the people at school and most others we know. I think we can trust her, she seems genuine enough as does Klein.'_

The words that her brother used to comfort her to the idea of staying with Asuna echoed in her mind. Deciding now was a better time than ever to follow up on the advice, Leafa got up from her slump and faced the other girl. "It's alright. I mean, you're a friend aren't you?"

That statement caught Asuna off guard for a moment but she met the gesture with a smile and nodded her head. "Yeah, we are."

"Well, Kirito and I played a whole bunch of games but nothing like this before. They were MMO's and other Co-Op games that we teamed up in. But the reason why we fight differently is because of the combo system."

"Combo system?"

Leafa looked to the darkness of the forest in front of them. "We figured out that the game has a set list of combos for every type of weapon that can be wielded through the menu. Not counting unconventional weapons that we just pick up and not put into our inventory. The combo system, we believe, was made to help other players who weren't good at fighting so that they could get a fair shake like everyone else. But Kirito doesn't like how it feels, it feels like his movement is being put into a flowchart."

Asuna looked to her rapier on the side of her sleeping bag in understanding of her words. Being that this was the first game she ever played, she had no idea what she was doing when combat came into play. Soon enough she learned to move with her weapon and came into becoming a front liner on her own. But she did recognize what it felt like to fight when she first started, like something was guiding her to make the correct strikes for those beginning days. "I think I understand."

"That dork was never someone to follow the rules in games. After the first few days when we started training he taught me to move without reliance on the system. It catches mobs off guard and lets us have more freedom in actions. Plus learning kendo…"

Leafa trailed off slightly realizing where the conversation was headed. Memories of a man whom she'd rather forget, times that she wanted to stay buried. Her thoughts almost put her into a fog of doubt until a comforting hand was put on her leg. She looked up to see Asuna looking at her with a concerned look.

"It's okay Leafa, you've told me enough." Placing her hand back to her lap, Asuna smiled at Leafa. "Here, let me share a little bit about myself."

This caught the black haired girl's interest. Other than a few shared interests and foods, she knew almost next to nothing about Asuna. She turned towards her in her sleeping bag and gave a look that urged her to tell.

Nearly laughing to herself over Leafa's interest, she sunk into her own sleeping bag and looked to the stars. "Honestly, I was never much of a gamer for most my life. I was never around the stuff for most my life since I had other… hobbies I was accustomed to. But one day my brother came home with a NerveGear and said he got a copy of this game. My parents didn't know about it but I asked if I could play it since he had a meeting to go to during the day to give it a try." A sigh escaped her lips as her gaze became a bit unfocused. "Guess my parents had a nasty surprise when they came home."

"Wow…" There wasn't much more that she could say in reaction to that information to process. It was certainly a far cry from how she got started in playing games. "One heck of a way to enter the world of gaming."

"Tell me about it." Asuna chuckled a bit distantly. Looking at the clock on her HUD she noticed that it was beginning to get late. "Well we can continue this story time later. Get some sleep Leafa. I think you earned it after today."

As if predicting the future, Leafa let out a soft yawn at the mention of sleep. "Right… Wake me up when it's your turn to sleep…" After seeing Asuna nod her head, she slowly fell into sleep. A soft snoring came from her lips as the other girl smiled at her getting some rest. She looked to the sky as she let the girl sleep.

' _I'm glad you can at least talk to me Leafa. Hopefully, we can talk even more outside of bad circumstances.'_

The hours passed by with Asuna never letting her attentive focus escape her. As the morning sun began to rise, she gave a passing glance to Leafa and widened her eyes. At once she began shaking the girl awake. "Leafa! Leafa, wake up!"

"Hu~uh!? What, what!? What's going on!?" The rustled girl stammered out as her vision tried to refocus at being abruptly woken up. "Is it time to switch?"

"No, your cursor is green again!" Asuna said excitedly as she looked at top of the black haired girl's head. "You can get back into town with no issues!"

Quickly opening up her personal information tab in her menu, the swordswoman was beyond delighted to see herself in the green. She let out a quick squeal of excitement, never once thinking that she'd be grateful for being able to do something as simple as walking into a town.

As the excitement from her high wore down, a sudden realization came upon her as she turned to Asuna. "Wait, why didn't you wake me up for my shift? You didn't have to watch me all night long."

"I think you deserved it more than me." She said simply while getting up. "Plus it's not like we're doing another advancing march towards the boss dungeon any time soon, so we can just take it easy." She passed along the sleeping bag back to Leafa as she finished wrapping it up. "Tell Kirito I said thanks for the bag. Before I go for a nap myself, I have some choice words for Kibao regarding his troops."

Leafa almost felt bad for the verbal lashing that Kibao was about to receive. But considering the circumstances, she decided to let go of her pity for the wrath he was about to endure. "Well you go and have fun with that. Wish I could be there to see it but I think I've had enough excitement for a bit."

The two of them walked back into town and split ways at the inn. The black haired girl waited until Asuna turned at the corner to walk into the building. She walked upstairs until she came face to face with her and Kirito's room. Sighing quickly, she opened the door softly and peeked inside. On his bed, Kirito was soundly asleep even though the day was beginning for most the players around town. She smiled softly as she snuck her way into the bedsheets with him and hugged him from behind. Her brother shifted slightly in his sleep but went back to snoring real quick. Leafa smiled as she pressed herself closer to him.

' _It's good to be back.'_

* * *

 **A/N: And with that, the chapter ends. Now with my schedule returning to normal soon, I can go about bringing the next series of chapters soon enough for the upcoming arc. Stay tuned for it. R &R if you want and I hope you all have a great rest of your day and to those in the USA, enjoy President's Day!**


	12. UPDATE NOTICE

**This is an update notice.**

 **Hello everyone, Deviljho's Hatred here. Now I'm sure you've all noticed I've been gone for quite a while. Longer than my usual outings and that is because I have recently moved out and into my own new place. The move was a big part of stress and relief in my life due to now finding a balance between expenses and time for other means such as friends, family, hobbies, etc. This has had quite an effect on my writing time as I'm often being pulled in many directions left and right and have had no time to coordinate accordingly.**

 **This has also lead to an unfortunate case of writer's block for my two main fics, Life of a Grimmborn and Sibling Steel as well as the fics I co-write with fellow author TheSib. I know where I want to go with these stories and how things should progress but the lack of time to sit down and really buckle into the groove of writing has left me real rusty. I don't want to come back and give a super subpar chapter to my fans who have been waiting for so long for a new chapter. You guys and gals have stuck with me since I first started writing and I want to give you all the quality you've come to expect from me.**

 **So as my schedule begins to clear up in the coming weeks, I plan to truly evaluate all the time I have and balance it with my social and personal responsibilities and hopefully have more consistent uploads for you all. I do not and will never want to abandon the stories and characters I've created just for nothing to come of them. I have grown attached to them just as my readers have and will give them and the stories the proper respect they deserve.**

 **I repeat, I WILL NOT leave this site without finishing all that I want to do with every story both now and in the future that I wish to write.**

 **So I hope you guys can bare with me for a little while longer while I get all my ducks in a row and continue writing proper. I am hoping that by early to mid August I can return with a chapter to truly come back with.**

 **As always, I am grateful to all my fans and friends who support me on this site and hope I can return soon. I hope you all have a wonderful day and night and will return soon for the next chapter proper.**

 **NOTE: This chapter will be deleted/replaced with the chapter proper to continue the respective story.**

 **~Deviljho's Hatred**


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